Time and Again
by Angler11235
Summary: After a drawn out conflict, Harry Potter disappears from the final duel and reappears in his fourth year. Dealing with all of the changes to his past will be his biggest challenge yet.
1. Arrival

Despite the commotion of recent weeks, the wizarding village of Hogsmeade was experiencing a calm end to summer. The attack at the World Cup had stricken fear back into the hearts of everyone old enough to remember Voldemort's first reign, but after several weeks with no additional attacks, people were beginning to settle back into their routines. Hogwarts had started the previous week, and the various businesses were gearing up for the first Hogsmeade weekend.

Outside the town, on the far side from Hogwarts, the slight breeze suddenly began to pick up its pace. The tall grass began to whip around, and leaves began swirling in a circle. This was accompanied by the appearance of green sparks that crackled as they span. A low roar, like a waterfall from a distance, filled the air as more and more sparks appeared, obscuring the entire area. Suddenly, the roaring gave way to a deadly silence as the sparks, leaves, and grass froze in place. The sparks shivered, then vanished, leaving no evidence they had ever been there, save for the body lying still on the ground.

Near an hour later, movement revealed that there was still life in the body. Eyelids fluttered and fingers twitched, before the man sat up with a gasp, sucking in air as quickly as possible. The man shot to his feet, spinning around and taking in his surroundings as his right hand raised and began glowing a deep red. Upon seeing nothing in the vicinity, however, he slowly relaxed as the glow faded. He then traced a strange symbol in the air before him that pulsed. No other effect was apparent, though he seemed satisfied enough to lower his hands. Continuing to take deep breaths, he reached up and gave a sigh of relief upon feeling a thin chain upon his neck. He soon froze once again, though, upon seeing the town lying before him, with a castle looming in the background. Emerald eyes widened, and he immediately began jogging towards the village.

He slowed as he reached the outskirts, spotting a few figures moving about the streets. With a look of concentration, a shimmer ran from his feet to his head, changing his appearance nearly instantaneously. The previously baggy grey robes now fit perfectly, though they were still ripped in several places now that he had grown by several inches. Visible underneath the robes that were open at the front was a dark blue hoodie, along with a pair of black jeans. The unkempt black hair had faded to a light brown, nearly blond color, and had receded to a much shorter length. The boys most distinct quality, the emerald green eyes, had changed to a pale blue color, thought they were just as sharp as before.

The man pulled many strange looks from the populace as he walked through the village but was mostly ignored as he strode towards the massive gates leading to the castle in the distance. Upon arriving at them, he grasped the wrought iron and pushed. The gates didn't budge. He tried pulling but received the same response. He stepped back and glanced about but was interrupted before he could try anything else.

"Hey, you!" a voice called out from behind him. The man spun on his heel, hands clenching at his sides, though he managed to restrain himself from any further action. "Why are you trying to get into the castle?"

The man paled as the woman approached, though his hands did not relax. "R-Rosmerta?" he asked, a tone of incredulity in his voice.

The woman stopped abruptly. "Aye, that's my name, though I don't recall meeting you before. Have we met?"

The man quickly schooled his expression. "No, we haven't. A friend described you to me when I told him I was coming here."

The woman, Rosmerta, seemed to relax at that. "Well, why didn't you say so? Come on, my pub is this way," she said, turning and moving back towards the main street of the village. The man hesitated, then followed her. "Now, what did you say your name was?"

The man hesitated, before answering, "Nicolaus. Nicolaus Blackwood."

Rosmerta tilted her head. "Quite the interesting name you've got there. Where are you from, if you don't mind me asking?"

The man seemed to relax at this question. "Born in Britain, actually, though I've lived in Australia most of my life. My parents travelled a lot when they were younger and got a taste for foreign names."

Rosmerta nodded. "I can see that. I assume you haven't been here before? You looked pretty lost back there."

Nicolaus nodded. "Yeah, I just got here on the Knight Bus. I've never seen Hogwarts before, and my friend told me it was something I really needed to see while I was here. This is Hogsmeade, right?"

"Yep, sure is. And I don't think you'll be getting into the castle without an invite from one of the professors, they've upped security since the Lestrange's escape last year, not to mention the debacle at the World Cup," Rosmerta explained. Nicolaus stiffened at this explanation, though Rosmerta failed to notice. "The kids get to visit every few weeks, and since school's back in session, this weekend is their first visit of the year. You might meet a professor then, though I can't imagine them inviting someone they just met." Nicolaus didn't reply, appearing lost in thought.

"Welcome to the Three Broomsticks!" Rosmerta announced, breaking the man from his reverie. "The best pub in the Isles, though don't tell Tom I said that. We've got a few rooms for rent, if you'd like to stay and try your luck tomorrow."

Slowly, Nicolaus nodded. "That sounds great, actually. I'll probably need to pop back to London tomorrow, so I might not be around then. How much is it per night?"

"Just three Galleons, and for another 10 Sickles you'll get breakfast tomorrow. How's that sound to you?" she answered.

Nicolaus shoved a hand in his pocket and withdrew three Galleons a moment later. "Works for me."

"Great," Rosmerta answered. "Let me show you your room." She led him up the stairs and down a short hallway, before opening a door for him.

The instant the door closed behind him, Harry turned and ran his hand up and down it, satisfied upon hearing a _squeak_ as the door sealed. Nearly hyperventilating, his appearance melted back to the form it had upon his arrival as he collapsed into the chair in front of the small desk.

 _What on earth is going on?_ he thought in a panic. Last time he had seen Rosmerta, she had been locked in a vicious (and losing) duel against Thorfinn Rowle, but she now looked several years younger, and very much alive. That was not to mention the village, which was half on fire and half blown up last he had seen. Something was very, very wrong, and he had no idea what was going on. Taking some deep breaths, he thought back to the last memories he had before he woke up here.

* * *

 _Harry dodged spellfire and explosions as he dashed towards the courtyard from the second floor girls' lavatory. He leaped down the entire entry staircase, a quick mutter of_ "Arresto Momentum" _slowing him enough for a soft landing at the bottom. Continuing his mad sprint, he forced himself to ignore the screams he could hear coming from nearly every direction. Where he could, he waved his hand and launched curses towards the masked figures, though he doubted most of them would hit their targets. He tossed a silent_ Flipendo _at the main entry doors, knocking one off its hinges entirely, and slid to a halt at the top of the outdoor stairs._

 _Standing before him, flanked by the Lestranges and the Malfoys, was Lord Voldemort himself. The pale, snake-like face was twisted in what he guessed was a smirk, though it was hard to tell with the warped features. The Lestranges had someone held at wandpoint, though their upper body was obscured by a large cloth._

" _So, Harry, you've finally decided to join us," the monster spoke softly, his voice drifting easily across the distance. Harry descended the steps and slowly stalked closer. "I was wondering how long it would take."_

" _What do you want, Tom?" Harry asked brusquely, in no mood for the Dark Lord's games, though he knew he had little choice._

 _Voldemort, in a rare show of patience, failed to rise to Harry's use of his given name. "Now, now, Harry, there's no reason we can't all be polite here. After all, I think I have a rather… convincing bargaining chip you may be interested in." A skeletal hand gestured vaguely towards the shrouded figure. Harry suspected he knew who it was but was still praying for it to be anyone else._

 _Bellatrix, with a mad cackle, tore the shroud from the figure, revealing the form of Hermione Granger. Harry's fists shook with rage, though he did not dare to move a muscle, seeing Rabastan's wand hovering just behind her head. Hermione mouthed "I'm sorry" before she was forced to her knees by a sharp kick from Bellatrix._

" _What do you want," Harry demanded, growling out each word._

 _Voldemort smiled, a disturbing sight. "Why, it's quite simple. If you can defeat me in a duel, right now, your friend will go free. I presume you can guess what the result will be if you refuse my… generous offer."_

 _Harry scowled, but knew he had no real option. "Alright, Tom. Let her go, and we'll duel."_

 _Voldemort's eyes narrowed. "Now, I know you know that I can't do that. Though, I have made a concession to ease your mind." He gestured to his followers. "As your friend can attest, I placed a spell on my friends here. If I am to fall, they will be incapacitated." Harry looked to Hermione, who nodded firmly. "I think you'll agree, that was most thoughtful on my part. Now, will you accept my proposition?"_

 _Harry squared his shoulders, knowing he had no real choice here. "Very well, Tom. Let's do this."_

 _Voldemort smiled, then waved his familiar looking pale wand before him. All debris in the area was cleared and placed in a perfect circle with the two combatants on opposite sides from each other. Harry slowly began circling to his right, a motion that was mirrored by Voldemort._

 _Deciding to make the first move, Harry thrust his right hand forwards, launching a quick series of curses at his nemesis. Each had a different weakness, so a single shield couldn't stop them all. Voldemort negligently flicked his wand, raising a wall of earth before himself, bolstered by a crackling magical shield. Harry's curses destroyed both shields but went no further. Harry, however, had not wasted the time the spells took to travel the distance between them, and was sprinting to the side, launching spears of earth at Voldemort with his left hand while conjuring a small pack of wolves with his right._

 _Voldemort easily transfigured the spears into flames, which he sent blasting right back towards Harry, then banished the wolves towards the castle at high speeds. They yelped as they flew, then fell silent with a series of sickening crunches. The Dark Lord then sent nearly a dozen spells towards his opponent with a single wave of his wand._

 _Harry grimaced as he was forced to conjure a metal shield in front of himself to block the two Unforgivables Voldemort had mixed in with the more mundane curses, then threw up a glowing blue shield that deflected most of the remaining spells. A single piercing hex punched through both shields and lanced through Harry's left side as he dodged away from it at the last second._

 _Rolling back to his feet, Harry pushed magic through his feet, raising dirt into the air all around Voldemort to obscure his vision. At the same time, he cast a Patronus charm straight at Voldemort, followed by several dozen conjured metal orbs, sent flying at breakneck speeds._

 _Voldemort spun his wand in a circle, transfiguring the dust around him into tiny shards of glass, which then launched high into the air. His eyes widened momentarily at the massive silver stag racing towards him, but he reacted quickly by slashing his wand at an angle as he spun to the side, redirecting the metal pellets back at Harry. He then gestured towards the glass shards, which coalesced into a small dragon that dived towards the boy that had evaded him for so long._

 _The pattern continued for several minutes, each combatant collecting several more minor injuries, though nothing severe enough to put either out of the fight. With a roar, Voldemort jabbed his wand directly at Harry's chest, spewing a flood of green and red light at the young man before him. Harry transfigured and conjured a series of physical shields that managed to stop all of the Unforgivables that had been flying at him. Before he could celebrate, though, he saw a nearly invisible ripple of light flying directly towards his chest._

 _With no time to attempt to block or deflect it, Harry allowed himself to fall to the ground. As if in slow motion, he watched as the spell grazed the front of his robes, turning them to ash, but failing to connect solidly. When he hit the ground, he rolled to the side and jumped back up, ready to continue the fight._

 _He paused when he realized Voldemort hadn't cast another spell, nor did he look like he was about to. In fact, there was a cruel smile growing on his lipless mouth. Harry glanced down, where Voldemort's eyes seemed to be looking._

 _There, where that last spell had grazed his robes, was a growing hole. The edges were slowly turning to ash, and it was also spreading to his other clothes. As he raised his hand to cut away the affected material, a rushing sound filled his ears. His hand slowed to a snail's pace, before stopping entirely. As more and more cloth fell away from his chest, a small hourglass on a golden chain was revealed. However, the glass was being dissolved just as his clothes were, and the dust within was spilling out, coating his skin. Green sparks began to appear around him, even as he tried to rip the Time-Turner from his chest, to no avail. The rushing sound grew in strength, overwhelming all of his senses, before_ –

* * *

Harry opened his eyes. Unless this was all just an extremely elaborate illusion that Voldemort had trapped him in, he had been thrown back in time, apparently to the beginning of his fourth year. Curiously, though, his magic and body remained in their matured states, and kept all the changes they'd had been through in the past few years. To check his suspicions, Harry decided he needed a copy of the _Daily Prophet_ , Harry replaced his disguise, removed the privacy spell on the door, and went back downstairs.

Rosmerta was cleaning some glasses behind the bar when he exited the stairway. "Nic, can I get you anything?"

"Just a copy of the _Prophet_ , if you've got one?" Harry asked. Instead of replying, Rosmerta reached beneath the bar and tossed a bundle of papers at him. "Thanks," he said, and went back upstairs. This time, when he closed the door, he drew a series of runes on it with his finger, leaving glowing symbols behind. When he finished, the entire door flashed with a blue light that ran along the walls, floor, and ceiling before fading to nothing. The only evidence that he had done anything was a single rune, pulsing a faint blue, in the upper corner of the door.

Confident that he could now be certain of his solitude, Harry leaned up against the headboard of his bed and flipped the newspaper open. The majority consisted of the usual gossip and fluff pieces, but he found a small article on the eighth page that drew his attention.

 _Investigation into World Cup Continues_

 _After the World Cup, a group of wizards who had apparently overindulged in the post-game festivities caused a significant amount of damage to the campground and private property that was staged there, in addition to participating in Muggle-baiting. After some time passed, the Dark Mark was conjured over the nearby forest. Some unnamed Hogwarts students who were fleeing the campground were found at the scene where it was cast, but it was determined that a house elf that stole a wand was the culprit. Those who participated in the Muggle-baiting were not apprehended, though Auror Captain Potter has stated that his team had uncovered some promising leads to their identity._

Harry read the article, and nearly tossed the newspaper aside before something he read made him do a double take. " _—Auror Captain Potter—"_ Harry's heart began racing. Something was very, _very_ wrong here. He tore through the rest of the newspaper but found nothing of interest. Either the _Prophet_ had made a massive typo or – Harry didn't know what else it could be, but he needed more information. He was already planning on stopping by Diagon Alley the next day, so he would just have to add a few more stops to his journey.

* * *

 **Disclaimer: This applies to the entire story. Any characters, locations, ideas, or anything else that is recognizable from JK Rowling's Harry Potter books are her property. Original characters, locations, or ideas are mine. When I draw inspiration from outside sources, I will explicitly note the original source in an author's note in that chapter. If you notice I have not given credit where it is due, please notify me and I will fix the oversight.**

 **Author's Note: Hey everyone. No, I haven't abandoned my other story, but I wasn't entirely pleased with how it was proceeding. At some point, when I feel up to it, I'll probably rewrite and republish it. However, this idea was sort of festering in my head, so I decided to get it out. I'm aiming for longer chapters in this story (this one is already the longest one I've written, and I'm aiming for longer ones as I go), so it'll probably update much slower than Unbreakable ever did. However, it is much more fleshed out already than Unbreakable, so we'll see how it goes. At this point, I'm planning for each chapter to be part plot development, part flashback, but if that gets too confusing please let me know. The name "Rahkesh Asmodaeus" is from Miranda Flairgold's "A Second Chance at Life," which I strongly suggest you all read. It's very original and well-written. Anyways, thanks for reading, and please drop a review!**

 **Edit, 2/4/19: Fixed a typo.**

 **Edit, 11/8/19: Changed Harry's name.**


	2. The Alley

Harry woke early the next morning. For a moment he was in a panic, not recognizing his surroundings. However, he soon recalled what had happened the previous day. He showered quickly in the en suite bathroom, then pulled a change of clothes from one of the half dozen shrunken trunks on his necklace. He chose a thin long-sleeve shirt, a pair of dark jeans, and a deep blue robe that was closed on his torso but open over his legs. He reshrank the trunk, attached it to his necklace, then removed the rune scheme that was on the door.

When he arrived downstairs, Rosmerta was nowhere to be seen. Just before he walked out the front door, intent on getting an early start to the day, a voice called him back.

"Nic!" Rosmerta called, coming out from the kitchen. "I hope I didn't just see you try to sneak out without breakfast!"

With a roll of his eyes, Harry smiled and turned back. "Of course not, Rosmerta. What's on the menu today?"

"Well since you're the only one here, you get to choose my menu today," she smiled at him.

"Just some eggs and bacon would be lovely," Harry answered, seating himself at the bar.

"Comin' right up," Rosmerta called from the kitchen. Just a few minutes later, she walked out with a plate piled with eggs and bacon. Pulling another plate from the bar, she split it in half and pushed one plate to Harry. "So," Rosmerta started, "what're you doing in England? Besides sightseeing, of course."

Harry finished chewing his eggs. "I'm actually thinking of moving back to England. I was just going to get some stuff sorted with the London Gringotts branch today, check out Diagon Alley. Though I'll probably have to look for a job sooner rather than later," he mused.

Rosmerta hummed. "Well, I know it's not the most glamorous position, but my last server for Hogsmeade weekends graduated last year and I haven't set up a replacement yet. If you'd like, you can take the position while you're looking for a more permanent job. Plus, it might help you get that invitation to the castle," she smiled.

Harry took a moment to think and polished off his bacon. "Could I get back to you tonight on that? I want to get all my bank stuff sorted first."

Rosmerta nodded. "Sure thing. Just make sure you have an answer by tonight, because the Hogwarts rush starts tomorrow."

Harry smiled. "Thanks for the breakfast. See you tonight," he said, donning his robe again and pushing through the doors. After a short walk, he reached the Apparition point on the outskirts of Hogsmeade.

With a soft _crack_ , Harry Apparated into Diagon Alley. Directly ahead of him was the massive marble structure that was Gringotts, standing tall and strong. Unbidden, flashes of memories and newspaper articles shot through his head.

* * *

 _December 26_ _th_ _, 1998_

 _Hermione burst through the doors of Harry's room in Grimmauld Place. "Hermione, wha—"_

" _Harry. You need to see this," she interrupted, handing him a copy of the_ Daily Prophet _. Harry reached over to grab his glasses and unfurled the newspaper. The front-page headline screamed out at him,_ Ministry Moves on Goblins: Siege on Gringotts Begins! _Harry rapidly scanned the page, reading how the Wizengamot had convened in a special session, called by Undersecretary Umbridge, and voted in favor of declaring war on the "vile creatures" who conspired to "steal the wealth of the nation." In the photo on the front page, Corban Yaxley was pictured leading a contingent of Aurors in front of Gringotts, a barrage of blasting curses slamming against the now-visible wards of Gringotts. Harry let out a sigh._

" _I can't believe they're bold enough to try this," Harry said, getting out of his bed. "They must either be way too confident, or they don't think they need the bank anymore."_

 _Hermione nodded. "I thought the same thing. My guess is that Voldemort decided that either he'll seize all of their wealth when they surrender, or he'll have driven out one of the only powers he doesn't control left in Britain."_

 _Over the next few days, more articles were written, detailing the valiant efforts of the attackers and the awful countermeasures the goblins were employing. The inhabitants of Grimmauld Place wished they could join the defense, but there was no way they would be able to pass the huge numbers of Ministry workers surrounding the building. It began looking more and more grim as the days turned to weeks, and layer after layer of ward was torn away. Then one day in January, as suddenly as it all started, the whole matter came to an end._

 _The cover picture of the_ Daily Prophet _on January 16_ _th_ _was a picture of Diagon Alley that was nearly unrecognizable. The proud, white marble of Gringotts now a pile of rubble sitting in a giant sinkhole. Many of the nearby shops had fallen in as well, though they had been abandoned for months by now. In addition to this, the_ Prophet _reported that an unbelievably powerful ward had been dropped over the entire ruin that vaporized any Ministry worker that got to close. However, the Ministry still claimed victory, assured the public that Galleons would still be accepted as currency, and instructed those with money in Gringotts to apply to the Ministry for new currency of equal value to that lost in the collapse._

* * *

With a deep breath, Harry pushed these memories back and strode with purpose towards the Wizarding bank. He grinned slightly when he saw the familiar warning inscribed on the silver doors leading to the atrium. He paused a moment, glancing about for a free teller, before seeing a goblin near the end of the massive room inspecting precious gems. He moved in front of the bench, then calmly waited while the goblin meticulously inspected each gem, made a mark on a piece of parchment before him, and transferred the gem to another pile. After several minutes, the goblin set down its magnifying glass carefully and turned its piercing gaze to Harry.

"What do you want, wizard?" it asked brusquely, in no mood to waste time. Harry quickly gathered his thoughts.

"I would like to make a rather significant deposit, as well as inquire about some other services you provide. Would it be possible to meet in a private room?" Harry smoothly explained. The goblin, for its part, merely glared for a few moments before grunting at him. A sharp claw extended to the back of the atrium.

"Wait there, someone will come get you eventually," the goblin said before turning back to the pile of gemstones. Harry nodded, and calmly seated himself where the goblin indicated. He waited for nearly an hour before a goblin opened a nearby door and gestured to him impatiently. Harry quickly stood and followed the creature farther into the bank.

They walked along a long hallway that had amazingly intricate carvings covering every available surface, including the ceilings and floors. Periodically, beautifully engraved doors dotted the walls. After passing at least a dozen of them, the goblin finally opened one of the doors and held it open for Harry, who quickly ducked inside.

"What do you want, wizard. I don't have all day," the goblin demanded, seating itself behind a large wooden desk.

"As I said before, I would like to make a large deposit and take advantage of some of the services you offer," Harry explained.

"Alright, let's see the deposit," the goblin demanded. In response, Harry removed one of the trunks from his necklace.

"With your permission, I would like to enlarge this," Harry asked, setting the trunk on the floor. The goblin nodded, and Harry returned it to normal size with a wave of his hand. The goblin's left eyebrow lifted marginally, but it showed no other reaction. Harry lifted the lid, revealing an interior filled nearly to the brim with an obscene number of gems. The goblin, for a moment, lifted slightly out of its chair, eyes alight with greed. Just as quickly as this expression appeared, it vanished, and the goblin sat back in the chair with a calculating gaze upon Harry.

"So, what were these other services we can help you with, Mr.…?"

Harry smirked. "Blackwood."

* * *

They took a short break while the goblin, who introduced himself as Hookfang, called in some other goblins. Several of them took possession of Harry's trunk, chattering excitedly to each other in Gobbledegook. Another brought in a tray of tea and biscuits.

"Hookfang, just so you're aware, I have meticulously counted and weighed every rock in that trunk," Harry casually said.

Hookfang just grinned. "Of course, Mr. Blackwood, of course. I would expect nothing less. Now, what were these other services you required?"

Harry carefully phrased his next words. "You see, I was born in Britain, but my parents moved to Australia soon after I was born. I recently decided to move back here, but I managed to lose all my identification as soon as I got here. I was hoping you could help me get that all sorted out without me having to go to the Ministry and explain my embarrassing situation."

Hookfang's grin became nearly feral. "I'm sure you understand, Mr. Blackwood, that such a service will not be inexpensive, especially considering the Ministry's love of interfering with the affairs of individuals such as yourself." Harry had been expecting this, but merely nodded. "Very well, we will need to collect your information, so we can properly… recover your identification." A few forms were laid out upon the desk, and the goblin picked up a quill. "Full name?"

"Nicolaus Blackwood."

"Place and date of birth?"

"August seventh, 1972. St. Mungo's."

The questioning went on for nearly an hour, the goblins collecting details that Harry would never have considered had he not been through this process before. They asked for mundane things, such as previous addresses, schools attended, NEWTs earned, and the like, but also obscure and inconsequential things, such as childhood friends, number of brooms owned, and even favorite brand of ice cream. Eventually, though, Hookfang was finished.

"Alright, Mr. Blackwood, I think I have everything I need. I just need a few signatures and then we can get you your proof of citizenship, Apparition license, and your NEWTs." Hookfang slid several sheets of paper across the desk along with a black quill. Harry lifted it and signed carefully in the marked locations, each page disappearing with a flash of light as he finished. His hand was just beginning to get sore when he finished the last one.

"Very well. Here are your identifications, and NEWT certifications for Defense Against the Dark Arts, Transfiguration, Charms, Potions, Runes, and Arithmancy. Is there anything else you need today?" Hookfang said, handing Harry an envelope.

"Yes, I'd like to see what value your appraisers came up with for my gems," Harry answered. Hookfang barked out an order in Gobbledegook, prompting another goblin to enter with a sheet of paper, while two others brought the trunk back in. Hookfang glanced at the parchment.

"Your jewels have been appraised at a value of just over 3 hundred thousand Galleons for the entire amount. As a side note, a fair number of fakes were found, which we have tabulated and separated from the rest. Here is the complete inventory," Hookfang explained, giving a sheet of parchment to Harry. He glanced at it, but everything looked to be in order.

"Alright. I would like to sell you the entire amount, and have it placed in a medium security vault," Harry decided. "I'll take, say, three hundred Galleons in a bottomless pouch please." Hookfang nodded, producing another form for Harry's signature.

* * *

Soon after, Harry walked out of the bank, less one trunk on his necklace, but with a small pouch fastened to his belt. He made a beeline for Flourish and Blotts, intent on doing a little research. If he was back in 1994, either he had a doppelganger running around somewhere, or something else was different. Based off his name appearing in the _Prophet_ as an Auror's name, it appeared that there could be differences, major or minor, though Harry was still hoping it had been a simple misprint.

As Harry entered the store, a slight smile appeared on his lips. It looked just as he remembered before the word had broken out. The shelves reached high up into the rafters, stuffed to the brim with books on every conceivable magical subject. For a few moments, Harry simply stood and stared, taking in the sights and sounds of a business he never thought he would see again. He began moving through the shelves, and eventually he reached the nonfiction section. His finger ran along the spines of the books, eventually stopping on _The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts_. Unbidden, a voice echoed through his head.

" _I know all about you, of course – I got a few extra books, for background reading, and you're in_ Modern Magical History _and_ The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts _and_ Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century."

Harry shook his head, pushing his memories out of his conscious mind. He pulled the book from the shelf and immediately flipped to the back, searching for the section on Voldemort. He soon found it and began skimming the words.

 _He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named rose to power in 1970… Then Minister of Magic Eugenia Jenkins leaves office in 1975… Charlus and Dorea Potter were killed in 1977… He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named defeated by the Boy-Who-Lived, Neville Longbottom, after killing both of his parents on Halloween night, 1981._

Harry was torn from his thoughts by a light chiming sound, followed by a voice: "Sir, are you going to buy that?" Belatedly, Harry realized he had been reading for nearly ten minutes, and the Charms undoubtedly in place to prevent people from reading entire books in the store had alerted the clerk.

"Sorry about that, just got caught up. Yes, I'll be buying several of these, I'll be there in just a moment," Harry explained.

The clerk nodded slowly, returning to the front desk. Harry grabbed all the books he saw that had anything to do with the last three decades, then piled them in front of the surprised clerk. He nonetheless accepted Harry's money and put the books into a shrunken bag for him. Harry thanked the clerk as he left, slipping the back into the pouch on his waist.

Harry's mind was in a mess. Apparently, in this world, the Boy-Who-Lived was Neville, not Harry. If something that major was different… Well, it didn't bode well for Harry's misprint theory. He was planning on heading straight back to Hogsmeade to read his new purchases but was distracted by the shop he saw just across the alley, the Magical Menagerie. Deciding to make a quick stop to clear his mind, he stepped in.

His ears were immediately assaulted as he stepped past the sound cancelling ward on the door of the shop. The most overwhelming sound was the large number of birds singing to each other, though they were far from the only sound. However, he was quickly drawn to pair of glass cages in the corner, where he could hear a number of voices speaking to each other.

A small black snake with a blue underbelly was rapidly striking at the glass of its cage, varying the angle and position each time. The cage was undoubtedly charmed to be unbreakable, so there was no evidence that the snake's approach was working.

" _You are never going to break through that, you know,_ " a more mature voice said. Harry watched as a lighter colored snake, about six feet long by the looks of it, uncurled and hissed towards the small snake. " _We have been trying for years, but none of us have ever escaped._ "

The smaller snake replied with a wordless hiss, before its scales began rippling from head to tail. The color of the snake change with the ripple, until it exactly matched that of the snake that had been speaking. It also increased in length, though was apparently unable to grow to the full size of its companion. " _Just because you can't figure a way out, doesn't mean I won't be able to,_ " the doppelganger hissed angrily, before continuing to strike at the glass wall. Harry smirked at the younger snake's determination and leaned down before it.

" _What is your name, young one?_ " he asked. The snake froze, before rippling back into its original form.

" _How is it you can speak our language?_ " it asked suspiciously.

The older snake took offense to this. " _Watch your tongue, little one,_ " it hissed. " _Speakers are exceedingly rare, we do not need to offend it._ "

" _I'll say whatever I want. It's not like it's done anything to help us, so I see no reason to respect it,_ " the small one replied.

The older snake turned to Harry. " _I apologize for my companion's behavior, Speaker. She is still young and impulsive. I have done my best to teach her our ways, but her kind has always been impulsive and brash._ "

Harry laughed, before speaking again. " _How would you both like to get out of here?_ " he asked, smirking when both snakes perked up before responding with an emphatic yes. " _I will be right back,_ " he told them, before walking to the clerk at the counter.

"Excuse me, I would like to purchase the two snakes you have over there," Harry said, pointing.

The clerk looked up with a bored expression. "Sure thing. That'll be twelve Galleons for the python, and sixty for the viper." Harry raised an eyebrow at the rather steep price, and the clerk explained. "It's a chameleon viper, pretty damn rare. My boss had a hell of a time getting the one. He probably won't be happy that it got sold so fast, I think he wanted to use it to gain some publicity, but that's the price."

"Alright, I'll take them both, along with their cages and enough food for, say, a month? And do you have anything I can read to learn about them both?" Harry said. The clerk nodded as Harry handed over the Galleons, then walked to the cages to remove the anti-theft spells.

"Okay, sir, you're good to go. We have a pamphlet for all our animals, those are attached to their cages. Though if you'd like, I could put both of them in stasis and shrink them? The stasis will automatically lift once you unshrink them," the clerk said as Harry placed the frozen rats in the pouch at his waist.

"That would be perfect, thank you," Harry answered. The clerk tapped each cage with his wand, and they were suddenly the size of match boxes. Rather than placing them in his pouch, Harry dropped them both into the breast pocket on the inside of his robes. Nodding, Harry turned and left the store.

There was only one last purchase Harry needed to make before he could go back to Hogsmeade. He hadn't used a wand in years, but he would certainly need one so he could fit in here. His mind slipped to the last time he had used his wand…

* * *

 _March 17_ _th_ _, 1998_

 _Harry knew he had made a mistake when he felt the Anti-Apparition ward fall into place around him. He had been rash, foolish. He knew that now, but it was far too late. Though he had managed to kill at least four of the Death Eaters, the rest of them had managed to pin him down between two of the abandoned shops. Now, it seemed as if they were content to keep him in place, though he wondered why they weren't trying to capture him to take him before Voldemort._

 _His question was answered when there was a sharp crack, immediately followed by sharp pain shooting through his scar._ He's here, _Harry thought._ I need to get out of here.

" _Harry, Harry, Harry. When will you ever learn? You can't escape me. You might as well come out in the open and face your death like a true Gryffindor," the Dark Lord's sibilant voice floated down the narrow passage. Harry knew that he had no choice, if he stayed here he would die for sure. At least if he was out in the main alley, he would have a chance to escape._

 _Harry raised himself from his crouched position and slowly walked towards the street, keeping his wand up, ready to cast a shield charm at a moment's notice. Eventually, Voldemort came into view, flanked by several members of his inner circle. In the opposite direction, a small crowd of Death Eaters, Aurors, and random passerby were gathered._

" _Harry, so good to see you again. I'm sure you weren't expecting it again this soon, but I just couldn't stay away," Voldemort taunted._

" _Sorry, Tom, I don't swing that way," Harry replied snarkily, hoping that Voldemort's infamous temper would give him an opening. Unfortunately, he only chuckled._

" _You never fail to amuse me, Harry. I'm sorry to say that these chats are going to have to come to an end, however. I must say, I'm impressed you've managed to escape me for so long, but that ends today," Voldemort told him. "Now, it's time to finish this," the Dark Lord said as he raised the bone-white wand. "I presume you still remember how to duel?"_

 _Harry wasted no time, casting a silent_ Confringo _without even raising his wand all the way. He hesitated when he saw the grin flash across Voldemort's lipless mouth._

"Avada Kedavra, _" he said, negligently raising his wand. The two spells collided, and their wands were connected just as they had nearly three years ago in the graveyard of Little Hangleton. Harry immediately began forcing the beads of magic along the strand of magic with all his might, surprised to see them move smoothly towards Voldemort with little resistance._

 _Suddenly, the connection was broken as Voldemort_ dropped _his wand. It took only a moment for Harry to realize his advantage, but that moment was all Voldemort needed. Belatedly, Harry noticed the second wand sitting firmly in Voldemort's offhand, and the nearly invisible spell that had been launched from it. Panicking, Harry twisted to his left, frantically trying to dodge the spell. He nearly succeeded._

 _As if in slow motion, the spell made contact with Harry's wand. In a flash, his beloved holly and phoenix feather wand vaporized, and the particles left behind were launched at high velocity straight into Harry's forearm. The only thing Harry could register was an extreme amount of pain, along with massive amounts of blood leaking from the tiny holes punched in his arm. Soon after, he faded into unconsciousness._

 _Voldemort began to laugh, and he raised his wand to finish off the boy who had been such an annoyance to him for so long. However, just before the green spell hit the boy, a wall of stone shot up from the ground and blocked it. Voldemort growled in frustration, casting his gaze about for whoever had dared to stop his final vengeance on the boy._

 _Out from under an invisibility cloak stepped the form of Mad-Eye Moody, one of the few remaining free members of the Order of the Phoenix. A twisted grin slid across the Aurors face as he raised his wand._

* * *

 _Harry drifted in and out of consciousness for the next few days. Occasionally, he was aware of a damp cloth being held against his forehead, or soup being lifted to his mouth, but nothing more. One morning though, he opened his eyes and managed to keep from falling back to sleep._

 _He was in his room in Grimmauld Place, apparently. He was about to rise from the bed when the door slammed open, revealing Hermione, who quickly pushed him back down into the mattress. Harry tried to speak but started coughing, so Hermione grabbed a glass of water from the bedside table and helped him drink. Harry tried again._

" _What… what happened?" he asked, grimacing as he heard how rough his voice sounded. "Last thing I remember is… Voldemort…"_

 _Tears were slipping down Hermione's cheeks. "You almost didn't make it. Your arm was a complete mess, and you lost a ton of blood," she choked out. "I can't believe you did that, Harry. It was so—"_

 _Harry interrupted her. "I know, I know. I'm so sorry. I just couldn't stand staying still after—" Harry choked, still unable to voice it. Hermione nodded._

" _I know, Harry. Trust me, I do. But doing things like this will only get you killed," she said quietly._

" _Where's Mad-Eye today?" Harry asked, drinking some more water. His expression dropped again as he saw Hermione's eyes flicker away from him. "Hermione?"_

" _He—he didn't make it," Hermione managed to choke out._

* * *

 _Harry sank into depression after the debacle in the alley, and though Hermione did her best to alleviate it, there wasn't much she could do. The loss of his wand had been a major blow, too, and they had no spares he could use. Harry had taken to cleaning the house without magic, just as he had done the summer before his fifth year. Though this time, he was alone. No Weasleys, no Sirius, nobody except Hermione and himself. Kreacher, even though he was much more accommodating after Harry promised to destroy the locket, was still old, and even his magic couldn't keep the house clean._

 _One day while Hermione was out collecting food and newspapers, Harry was cleaning one of the many upstairs bedrooms. There were several bags full of dust and various other pieces of trash sitting by the door, and the only thing left to do was get the dust and dirt out of the curtains._

 _As he reached out to shake them, a doxy burst from behind them, flying directly at his face._ Damn, _he thought,_ I could've sworn we managed to clear them out. _He dodged, and the doxy flew past him, before turning for another run. He scrambled for the doorway but tripped over one of the trash bags before he could get there. He rolled to his back and his eyes widened as he watched the doxy turn once more before diving at him. He closed his eyes and raised his right hand in front of his face, hoping to at least prevent a bite to his face._

 _He opened his eyes when he didn't feel a bite from the vicious creature. Right in front of him, frozen solid, was the doxy. Its beady eyes flicked around, and its mouth was still open as if to bite him. He blinked, then looked around for Hermione, but he was still alone._ How did I…

 _It was then that he noticed the warm feeling in his right hand and arm, almost like he had felt the first time he held his wand. Looking down, he watched as a light red glow faded from sight, though the warmth remained. Waving his hand and focusing, he watched as the dust on the curtains siphoned off and into one of the remaining trash bags. For the first time in weeks, Harry smiled._

* * *

Harry quickly walked down the winding streets that made up Knockturn Alley, a black hood pulled over his head as he glanced at the shops as he passed them by. He pulled up short when he finally found the sort of shop he was looking for. The faded paint on the sign read White Thestral Wands and Staves. Removing his hood, Harry walked into the shop.

The interior was not at all what he expected from the outside, but he was pleasantly surprised. The front area of the shop was well lit, if a little cramped, with just a counter and a few chairs. A door behind the counter doubtlessly led to the wandmakers' workshop. A bell softly chimed as he walked in, and a voice drifted from the back. "One moment!"

Harry amused himself by glancing at the few display cases that were scattered about the room. Some held wands, others held ancient weapons, from maces to antique pistols. He was examining a pike that was propped in the corner of the room when he heard the door open.

"What can I do for you, sir?" an old man asked, wiping his hands with a towel attached to his hip. He wasn't nearly as ancient as Ollivander but was probably nearing Dumbledore's age. Harry cleared his throat.

"What is the strongest wood you have?" Harry asked, not wasting any time. The man looked curiously at him but answered nonetheless.

"Currently, I think that's Brazilian ebony. May I ask why?" he answered.

Harry ignored the question. "I'd like you to make a coreless wand from Brazilian ebony, 13 inches long. Make it as tough and durable as you can, but I would still like to be able to transfigure it. Can you do that?"

The wandmaker thought for a moment, then slowly nodded. "I can do that for you. I've a few other jobs right now, but I can get to it, say, in three days?"

Harry shook his head. "I'm sorry, but I need it today. Can I pay you extra for a rush job?"

He nodded, an odd expression on his face. "Alright, but it'll cost triple for labor and materials. That okay with you?" Harry just nodded. "Okay. Give me, say, three hours, and I'll be done. You can wait if you'd like," he added, gesturing to the seats as he returned to the back of the shop.

True to his word, the crafter finished in just under three hours. The "wand" was a dark brown, nearly black, with beautiful craftsmanship. The handle fit Harry's hand perfectly, and a small thestral was engraved on the base of it. Harry thanked and paid the confused wandmaker, then left the shop on his way to the Diagon Alley Apparition point.

* * *

 **Author's Note: Here's another chapter for you all, just about 5k words this time. Feedback is always appreciated, so if you have any questions or comments please leave a review!**

 **Edit, 11/8/19: Changed Harry's name.**


	3. Hogsmeade

Harry walked back into the Three Broomsticks a little after five that afternoon and was surprised to see a fair number of people filling the main floor. Rosmerta was busy rushing from table to table, serving food and retrieving plates, but she still greeted him when he arrived.

"Nic! Good to see you! Have you thought anymore about my offer?" she asked, a pleading look in her eyes. Harry laughed.

"Give me a few minutes to get my stuff put away, then I'll be right back," he replied, heading for the back stairs. Rosmerta gave him a relieved smile in return before turning back to her customers.

Taking the stairs two at a time, Harry quickly arrived at his rented room. He started by placing his books on the desk, then he removed the two snakes from his pocket and enlarged the cages. Both snakes looked very confused at the change in scenery.

" _Where are we? Where have you brought us, wizard?_ " the viper asked, clearly agitated. The python, somehow, gave an exasperated look towards her.

" _Obviously, he has brought us to his den. Now calm yourself,_ " it commanded. It then turned to Harry. " _Would you mind feeding us? We don't need feeding often, but the humans in that store last fed me nearly two weeks ago, and she,_ " here the python gestured towards the viper, " _needs to eat more often as she is still growing._ "

Harry acquiesced, and dropped a rat in each of the two cages. " _Now,_ " he said, " _I need to go work for a bit, and when I return we can discuss your future living conditions._ " At this, he hung his robe on the door and returned downstairs.

"Thank god, Nic, I wasn't expecting this many people tonight," Rosmerta said as he exited the stairs. She tossed something white at him, which he caught. "Here's an apron. Would you mind taking care of the customers behind the bar for tonight? Tomorrow when the students get here I'll probably have you do more, but I suppose I should get you warmed up first." She winked, then grabbed two more plates from the pass and carried them to the waiting customers.

Harry wrapped the apron around his waist and went behind the bar. Underneath it, glasses and bottles of alcohol were stored, along with various plates, towels, and silverware. It wrapped around nearly two entire walls of the pub. He glanced around but didn't recognize anyone beyond a few of the shopkeepers in Hogsmeade. A woman who had just sat down near the far end raised her hand as he glanced over, so Harry walked towards her.

"What can I get for you?" he asked.

"How about some Firewhiskey?"

* * *

An exhausted Harry returned to his room just past midnight. It hadn't been too difficult a job, though he was surprised when he brought his first ticket to the kitchen and met an old house elf. Apparently, he had been working at the Three Broomsticks since it opened nearly 50 years ago. Regardless, Harry was not looking forward to working the next day when the building would be packed with children. Fortunately, Rosmerta told him that it didn't usually get busy until after eleven, so he wouldn't have to work until then.

He quickly set up the wards on his room, then turned to the two cages in the corner. " _All right, now just so you know, you can't get out of this room right now, I've sealed it, so we can speak in peace. If I let you out, will you promise not to attack me?_ "

The viper became agitated at his words. " _I see how it is, wizard, you're merely changing one prison for another. If you are truly honorable, you will set us free now!_ "

Harry rolled his eyes. " _If I release you here, the other wizards will just kill you. They're so afraid of snakes the mere sight of one will set them off. I merely want to determine what you both want to do after this, and then I will do what I can to ensure that happens. If you'd like to stay, you may, and if you'd like to go free, I'll find somewhere I can do that,_ " he explained.

The python, once again the voice of reason, replied. " _We thank you for your consideration, Speaker. If you release us, you have my word that we will remain here for the time being._ " At this assurance, Harry lifted the lid off both cages, first the python, then the viper. As he leaned the lid against the cage, the viper rippled, growing in length and growing a hood near its head. It launched itself out and latched onto his left forearm. Harry grimaced, then carefully pried the snake from his arm, dropping it back in its cage.

" _Ha! I made no promise, two-legs! Now I get to watch as you die before me,_ " the snake hissed, clearly pleased with itself as it transformed back into its usual form. Harry merely rolled his eyes, and waved his hand over the bite, a golden glow emanating from his palm. The marks soon closed over, leaving just a few pale marks behind.

The python, who was busy berating the viper, turned to Harry. " _Speaker, you must get that venom neutralized immediately. As a chameleon viper, she can take the form and characteristics of any snake she has seen, and there was a cobra in the shop a few weeks earlier. She likely used that snake's venom to attack you,_ " he quickly said.

" _Not to worry. I'm practically immune to any venom, so there is no real harm done. Though, I'm not inclined to release you from your cage anytime soon,_ " Harry lightly berated the smaller snake. It merely looked at him, somewhere between confused and intrigued.

" _How is that possible?_ " the python finally asked.

" _When I was younger, I was bitten by a fully-grown basilisk. The venom was neutralized by phoenix tears, but its continued presence in my body has rendered me immune to any weaker type of venom,_ " he explained. By this time, the viper had curled up under a rock in its cage, though it kept its eyes fixed on Harry. " _By the way, what are your names? I'd rather not just call you both 'snake,'_ " Harry asked.

" _Snake's do not usually have names like you humans do,_ " the python replied. " _We just identify each other with breed and coloring, though pets and familiars are normally given names._ "

" _Would you both like names? If we're going to talk to each other at all, names would make this much more convenient,_ " Harry said. The python nodded its head in agreement, so Harry began thinking.

" _How would you like Salazar?_ " he asked the python. " _It is the name of the most famous Speaker in the Wizarding world._ "

" _I would be honored to be named for a Speaker,_ " he answered. Harry then turned to the viper.

" _And for you… Perhaps Saphira?_ " he mused. " _It matches the color of your underbelly quite well._ " The viper remained silent but nodded her head nonetheless. " _Wonderful. Salazar and Saphira,_ " Harry said, pleased with his choices.

" _Speaker, what can we call you?_ " Salazar asked.

" _You can call me Harry. Salazar, you have free reign of the room. Saphira… Maybe I'll let you come out tomorrow while I'm gone,_ " Harry said, then turned and groaned when he saw the stack of books on the desk.

Three hours later, Harry threw _The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts_ back on the table. The only thing he had learned for certain so far was that Neville was widely accepted as the Boy-Who-Lived. He could find no information on anyone named Potter, relative or otherwise, so he decided he would have to either look at old copies of the _Daily Prophet_ , or he could try to get information by just talking to people. Neither option sounded enjoyable to Harry, but he decided that looking at the _Daily Prophet_ would likely be more discreet. It would have to wait until the end of the weekend, though. With thoughts flying through his head, Harry laid back to try to get some sleep before work the next day.

* * *

Harry arrived downstairs just before eleven the next morning, having let out Saphira as he left, and sealed the door behind him. The pub was already moderately busy, but it didn't look as if Rosmerta was having any issues so far. She smiled as she noticed him already wearing his apron. "Morning, Nic! How're you doing today?"

He smiled despite himself, unable to stave of Rosmerta's infectious happiness. "Better than last night, though I probably won't be saying the same in an hour," he replied. Rosmerta just laughed and told him to bus tables and take orders.

Until about two o'clock, it was business as usual. The lunch rush had come and gone, and now Harry was able to relax a bit and slow down, now that there wasn't a need to clear tables as quickly as possible. He was in the process of scanning that days _Daily Prophet_ when a group of people who weren't students walked in. He glanced up briefly, noting where they were sitting, and was about to return to his paper when something clicked in his head. Slowly, deliberately, he lifted his gaze again.

Most of the people he saw at the table didn't surprise him. Hagrid, a regular patron of the Three Broomsticks, was squeezing himself into a chair that looked like it might fracture under the weight. Harry nearly ran over to the half-giant, who he hadn't seen since Hogwarts was first taken over by the Death Eaters. He repressed this urge, though, and began to observe the others who were now seated at the table.

There was Professor Flitwick, another common sight at the Three Broomsticks. McGonagall was there, too, looking just as strict as always. There was one more person, though, who Harry didn't immediately recognize. She, for she was obviously a woman, was seated with her back to Harry. She had deep red hair, but she seemed vaguely familiar to him. _Maybe it's the Runes or Arithmancy professors? What were their names, Babbling and Vector? No, I don't think that hair color is right. Maybe there's a different professor from when I was here? Perhaps—_

Harry's train of thought was completely derailed when the woman turned her head when Rosmerta arrived at the table. He _knew_ that face. He'd spent hours memorizing it, every curve, the dimples when she smiled.

It was his _mother_.

Immediately upon this realization, Harry's mind went into overdrive. He could feel his breath coming faster and faster, could hear his pulse pounding in his ears, increasing by the second. Knowing he needed to get out of the room, _quick_ , Harry practically sprinted up the stairs towards his room. He tore down the ward scheme in an instant, moved inside, and slammed it back up just as fast. He began pacing from wall to wall, mind trapped in a loop around one single thought.

 _My mother is alive_.

It took him a long time to slow his breathing, and eventually he was able to sit at his chair. The more he thought about it, the more it made sense. If Voldemort had attacked the Longbottoms, he wouldn't have attacked his own home. Perhaps the Lestranges had gone there instead, but apparently at least his mother had gotten out of it relatively unscathed. What about his father, though? Had he been driven insane like—

 _Auror Potter_.

Harry knew that his father had been an Auror before they were driven into hiding. His mother being here meant that she was almost certainly a Hogwarts professor, meaning his father could still be an Auror. Harry was just about to get worked up into another frenzy when a voice broke into his thoughts.

" _Harry?_ " a timid voice said from the floor. Looking, Harry saw Saphira looking up at him. Harry smiled slightly before replying, glad to have the distraction.

" _What is it, Saphira?_ " he asked. The snake, somehow, managed to look contrite.

" _I would like to apologize for my behavior yesterday. I can see now that I was… mistaken in how I read your actions,_ " she said, avoiding eye contact in a surprisingly human manner.

" _It is alright, Saphira. I understand how disconcerting it must have been to be moved to a new place so suddenly. If it happens again, I promise I will give you more warning, alright?_ " Harry replied.

The snake bobbed its head. " _That is acceptable to me, Speaker,_ " she said, before returning to her open cage and curling up. Harry, his thoughts now mostly under control thanks to the distraction provided by Saphira, decided to head back downstairs, hoping that Rosmerta failed to notice his absence.

His hopes were for naught, however, when Rosmerta approached him immediately upon his return. "You alright, Nic? I saw you fly out of here a bit ago like there was a dragon on your tail," she asked, concern clear in her eyes.

Harry nodded. "Yeah, sorry about that. Sometimes I just get really… vivid flashbacks of some rather unpleasant memories. It's hard to be around other people when that happens," he explained, trying to brush it off.

Rosmerta didn't look too convinced, but she let it slide nonetheless. "Alright, if you need to take a break at any point, you can just go ahead. In the meantime, would you mind bringing these plates to the table over there?"

Harry didn't even need to look to know which table she was talking about. "Sure thing, Rosmerta," he answered, flicking his wand as if casting a levitation spell, lifting the four plates.

"Nic," Rosmerta called as he turned, "call me Ros, sometimes Rosmerta is a bit of a mouthful." Harry just smiled as he turned and brought the plates towards the Hogwarts staff.

"Alright, I've got two fish and chips?" he said as he approached. Flitwick and Hagrid both nodded affirmatively, so he set them down. "Aaaand, a salad and a sandwich," he said, putting the last two plates in front of McGonagall and his mother as they indicated their order. He turned to leave, happy to avoid conversation, but was stopped as a voice called out to him.

"Young man," Flitwick's voice squeaked, prompting him to turn and face the table again. "You're new here, aren't you? I don't think we've met before. I'm Filius Flitwick, I teach Charms up at Hogwarts," he introduced himself, lifting a hand to shake, which Harry quickly took.

"Rubeus Hagrid, I teach Care o' Magical Creatures, and I'm the groundskeeper," the large man said, nearly crushing Harry's hand in his grip.

"Minerva McGonagall, Transfiguration," McGonagall said, choosing to not mince words. With something akin to a sense of dread, Harry forced himself to turn and face his mother.

She smiled brightly, almost physically hurting Harry as she did so. "Lily Potter. I'm the new History professor. It's a pleasure to meet you," she said. Harry froze for a moment as their hands touched but managed to cover it well enough. For a moment, he stood still as he felt all their eyes weighing expectantly on him.

He hadn't introduced himself, of course. "Nicolaus Blackwood. It's an honor to meet all of you," he said, trying to end the conversation, but it was not to be.

"That is quite an unusual name for a Brit, but your accent tells me you're a native. Where did you go to school, Mr. Blackwood? I'm sure I would've remembered your name if you attended Hogwarts," Flitwick said excitedly.

Harry relaxed, easing back into his assumed persona. "I was actually homeschooled in Australia by my parents," he replied. "Took my NEWTs when I turned seventeen and decided to live in my home country for a while."

McGonagall looked unimpressed at that, but merely pursed her lips and returned to her salad. Lily, however, looked intrigued. "It's really rare to meet someone homeschooled, nearly everyone goes to a school, even if it's one of the smaller ones. Could you tell me more about it?" she asked, appearing genuinely excited at the prospect.

Harry knew he couldn't have an entire conversation with her, at least not now. "I'm sorry, but it's only my second day working here, so I want to make a good impression on Ros. Maybe some other time?" Harry counteroffered, hoping to put it off for as long as possible. Lily looked disappointed but understanding, and waved as he departed.

"Well, it was nice to meet you, Mr. Blackwood," Flitwick called as he left the table.

"Please, call me Nic. Mr. Blackwood sounds like my father," Harry called back, grateful to be out of that situation.

Soon after, the professors left the pub, followed by nearly all the other patrons as they tried to grab the last few carriages back to Hogwarts. Harry helped Rosmerta clean the restaurant, as well as the remainder of the dishes, before retiring back to his room for the evening.

After resealing the door, he turned to his desk to continue his research, but was stopped by the form of Saphira coiled on top of the stack of books. As she became aware of his presence, she lifted her head and faced him.

" _Harry, I've made a decision,_ " Saphira hissed. Harry gestured for her to continue. " _I've decided that I would like to stay with you. For the time being, at least._ "

Harry was inwardly pleased but didn't show it on his face. " _May I ask what changed your mind so quickly?_ "

The snake paused, as if carefully choosing its word. " _You have proved yourself to be honorable, and despite my… actions yesterday, you've kept your word. If you'll allow it, I would be pleased to remain with you._ "

At this, Harry finally let out his smile. " _Of course I'll allow it. And just so you know, you will still be allowed to leave whenever you wish,_ " Harry said. " _However, I do have a few ground rules._ " Saphira nodded seriously. " _First and most important, you cannot kill any human unless I have told you to do so. If you are threatened, you can use nonlethal venom and attacks to defend yourself, but nothing more. Second, if you want to leave the room, I will allow it, under the condition that you follow my first rule and you allow me to place a Disillusionment Charm. Are these acceptable to you?_ "

Saphira took several moments to consider, head swaying side to side in a rhythmic manner. Eventually, she spoke. " _I can deal with both of those,_ " she said confidently.

" _One more thing. If you would like to learn to take more forms, I will do my best to help you,_ " Harry said. Saphira looked ecstatic at this.

" _Thank you, Speaker. I appreciate it._ "

* * *

Harry skimmed several of his books over the next few hours, but never found even the slightest mention of anyone named Potter, except for the notification of the death of Dorea and Charlus. He stepped downstairs for a quick meal with Rosmerta, and immediately returned to his books. Still, though, he found nothing. He fell asleep with a book on his chest.

The next morning, Harry arrived downstairs just as Rosmerta was unlocking the front doors. "Morning, Nic. How'd you sleep?" she asked, tying her own apron around her waist.

"Can't complain," he said with a smile. "This has got to be one of the most comfortable beds I've ever had."

Rosmerta snorted. "You must've only slept on rocks, before. I know how much a spent on those mattresses."

"Oh, it's not that bad. I've only found, like, three mice in it," Harry laughed back. "What else can I do?"

Rosmerta looked pensive. "Actually, I need to pick up some more Firewhiskey. I've got a shipment waiting at Abe's, would you mind picking it up for me?"

Harry looked surprised. "Why are you picking up your shipment from your only competitor?"

"Most people might think we're competitors, but pretty much everyone is friends here. Not to mention, we cater to pretty different clientele," Rosmerta explained. "How do you know about Abe, anyways?"

Harry's mind raced, realizing he had slipped. He'd only been here a few days and had hardly left the Three Broomsticks, he shouldn't know about the other businesses in town yet. "Err, I think I heard Hagrid mention it yesterday." Fortunately, Rosmerta seemed satisfied.

"Ah, that makes sense. Hagrid splits his free nights between here and the Hog's Head," Rosmerta mused.

"Anyway," Harry said, eager to end this topic of conversation, "I'll head out and grab it. Which way is his pub?"

"Just two streets thataway," she said, pointing across the main road through Hogsmeade. "You'll know it when you see it."

Harry nodded and exited the shop. Smiling lightly at the beautiful weather, he took his time walking towards where he knew the Hog's Head to be. In the distance, he could see the Shrieking Shack on the low hill overlooking the village, and beyond that the castle of Hogwarts. Turning once more, he could see the… iconic sign of the Hog's Head.

Stepping into the dingy pub was like stepping into the past for him. The hooded patrons, the dusty counters, and the musty smell were all exactly as he remembered them. Several of the customers sent him suspicious glances as the door creaked open, but they soon turned back to their drinks and muttered conversations. Harry strode up to the bar, where Aberforth Dumbledore was absentmindedly wiping the counter down with his customary dirty rag.

"I'm here to pick up Rosmerta's Firewhiskey?" Harry said.

"Are you tellin' me or askin' me?" Aberforth grumpily replied, tossing the rag beneath the bar. "Just a mo', I'll be right back." Without waiting for an answer, he walked into the back room, leaving the door swinging behind him.

Harry took the time to observe the people scattered throughout the room. Even though it was fairly early in the morning, it was about as crowded as Harry had ever seen. Though, it was just as likely these same customers had been here all night.

One of the men seated near the end of the bar looked somewhat familiar to him. A few moments later, Harry recognized the shrouded form of Mundungus Fletcher, a habitual drunk who held loyalty only towards the eldest Dumbledore. At the moment, he was nursing a glass of beer while flipping a coin absentmindedly between his hands. As Harry's eyes lifted towards Fletcher's face, his eyes quickly dropped to the table before him.

Harry was surprised but realized he really shouldn't be. An outsider suddenly appearing in Hogsmeade was bound to draw Dumbledore's attention sooner or later, and given his interaction with several of the professors, Dumbledore sending someone to keep an eye on him should have been expected. Harry briefly considered waylaying the man after he left the pub but decided that such noticeable action against one of Dumbledore's agents would only draw his ire.

Interrupting Harry's musings, Aberforth returned levitating a large crate which he placed on the end of the bar. "There you go. And tell Ros that next time it's her that's gotta pick it up," he groused, returning to his position behind the bar. Harry just nodded and raised his wand to bring the box back to the Three Broomsticks. Harry could have sworn he saw Aberforth shoot a glance at him when he cast the spell, but he dismissed it when he glanced over and saw the man wiping the counter as before.

Harry nearly swore when he realized that he had forgotten to make some changes to the wand and resolved to do so as soon as he returned to the Three Broomsticks. Pushing the front door open, he placed the crate behind the bar and began shelving the bottles. Rosmerta poked her head in, hearing the clinking of glass.

"Thanks for doing that, Nic. Abe didn't give you any problems, did he?" she asked.

"Nope, just said to remind you that next time you have to pick it up," Harry replied.

Rosmerta just rolled her eyes. "Of course he did. I think I'll be able to handle the place this morning, it's always pretty tame the day after the students are here. I'll holler if I need any help," she said with a smile.

"Sounds good, Ros," Harry said as he put the last of the bottles on the shelf. Grateful for the time to himself, he soon returned to and warded his room, before placing his wand on the desk.

When he cast magic without a wand, the glow that was created by most spells emanated from his hand, not the wand he was holding. Fortunately, the levitation charm only created a brief ripple in the air, so it was unlikely that anyone had noticed the difference until now. However, if he planned on doing any serious casting in public, it was vital that he disguise this difference.

The method he had come up with to solve this problem was rather difficult to come up with, but not difficult to implement. Essentially, he needed to create a linked pair of wards that were based in his wand. The first, in the pommel, would detect and extinguish any visible effects of spells that he cast. The second, on the tip of the wand, would mimic the exact same effect, thus creating the illusion that the spell had been cast through the wand. He could, of course, create temporary wards on the wand in the same style as those protecting his room, but he would have to recast those regularly. By carving them, though, the effect was nearly permanent, and would continue to function as long as there was ambient magic to be absorbed.

Harry set about carving tiny runes into the wand, using a kit he had drawn from one of his trunks. The hard part of this was really just ensuring the runes were carved and spaced accurately, as even a small error could result in catastrophic failure. Fortunately, the magic that Harry used through his arm allowed him to guide his tools with machine-like precision, and so the runes were about as perfect as they could be.

He finished the carving process in about an hour, then began powering the runes one by one in a specific order. This was the most dangerous part, as any mistakes during the carving stage would likely cause the ward scheme to be unstable once charged. Saphira and Salazar looked on in interest from the nearby pile of books.

Finally, nearly another hour later, Harry finished. He felt a slight headache growing, as he always did after charging a ward scheme, but it soon passed. The activation of a ward like this, powered on ambient magic, fortunately did not require much power, just patience and skill. To test his wards, he picked up the wand and pointed it towards the warded door.

" _Stupefy,_ " he said calmly, watching as a red light shot from the tip of his wand to the door, before splashing against it and fading to nothing. Harry smiled, feeling the same satisfaction he always felt after successfully creating a ward, even if it was one he had done before. Casting tempus, he realized it was nearly eleven, when the lunch rush normally began. He stowed his wand in his sleeve, then grabbed his apron from the back of the chair and returned downstairs.

He had timed his arrival well, it seemed. Customers were slowly filling the tables, and Rosmerta was behind the bar preparing drinks. Immediately stepping into his role, he began to collect orders from around the room. Harry was kept busy for the next few hours, and so they passed quickly. He recognized a few faces from the nearby shops, but it seemed that no professors had made the trek down to the village today.

Near two o'clock, the door chimed as a new customer walked in. Harry finished relaying the next order to Hooky, the house-elf working the kitchen, then turned to greet the newcomer. Before he could make a sound, the words died in his throat.

"Mad-Eye, good to see you!" Rosmerta called out, hurrying to greet him. "I was wondering how long it would take you to get down here. How's the professor's life treating you?"

Harry was nearly shaking. He _knew_ this was Barty Crouch, Jr., he had seen his tongue twitch across his lips just seconds ago. He looked nervous, though. His eyes were shifting back and forth rapidly, and he kept trying to edge around Rosmerta towards the Floo. Thinking quickly, Harry twitched his hand and cast two near-simultaneous switching spells. The first switched some ash in the fireplace with some old newspapers that were lying under the bar, then immediately traded those ashes with the Floo powder in the bowl on the mantle.

Harry knew the imposter wouldn't be able to Apparate from here, since the overlapping Anti-Apparition wards on all of the buildings in Hogsmeade made it nearly impossible without either breaking the wards or travelling to the designated Apparition point on the far end of the town. However, many of the buildings nearby contained Floos, so Harry would have to play his cards carefully.

"Oh, not too badly Ros, though I can't stand being with those damn kids for so long every day," the imposter replied, in a fairly accurate impersonation. "None of them give a damn what I'm saying, they're just waiting for the second they can run away." Even as he spoke, he continued sidling towards the Floo. Rosmerta even noticed this.

"Got an errand to run today?" she asked. Crouch gave a nervous chuckle but managed to pass it off as a real one.

"Somethin' like that, yeah. Maybe I'll stay a bit longer when I come back," he responded. He reached into the ash on the mantle and tossed it into the fireplace. The flames, however, didn't respond. His eyes widened, but he tried again and got the same result.

Rosmerta appeared confused. "That's odd, I could've sworn I just replaced that yesterday morning," she said, stepping over and inspecting the bowl. "Hold on… I think this is ash! Damn it, one of those kids must have switched it when I wasn't looking. Give me a moment, I've got some more in the back somewhere."

Before she could take more than two steps, though, the door slammed open with a crash. Standing in the doorway, wand drawn, was Lily Potter. A look of fury was on her face as she glared across the room at the fake Moody.

"Who are you, and what have you done with Mad-Eye?"

* * *

 **Author's Note: Just a heads up, school is getting started again so my update schedule will probably slow down. However, I'm going to try to update at least once a week. As always, I hope you enjoy, and please leave a review!**

 **Edit, 11/8/19: Changed Harry's name.**


	4. The Imposter

"Who are you, and what have you done with Mad-Eye?"

The imposter froze for just an instant, then he grabbed Rosmerta and placed his wand at her neck. "Not one more step, Potter, or she gets it," he growled out. He slowly backed towards the kitchen, where a back door exited into a small alley behind the pub. The magical eye flicked towards Harry. "You, too, boy. Don't move a finger."

Harry felt the adrenaline rush through his body as he observed with clinical detachment as the fake Moody moved towards the exit. His mind rapidly scanned the room for possible advantages, and he immediately focused on the shelf above the doorway to the kitchen. Several stacks of ceramic plates were stacked on it, and Harry knew he had to act quickly. The instant he saw the magic eye flick towards the stairs to the second floor as he passed them, he lightly summoned the bottom of each stack of plates, and they slowly tipped forwards.

Crouch was surprised when he heard a sound from behind him but didn't see anything when he looked with Moody's eye, until he looked up. Instinctively, he raised an arm to deflect the dishes, and that was when Harry struck. A quick summoning charm yanked Rosmerta away from the imposter before he could collect his thoughts enough to either grab her or cast a spell. Soon after, a banishing hex crashed into his chest, sending him flying through the doorway and into the alley beyond.

Harry was in motion before either of his spells landed on their targets. He leapt forwards and vaulted over the bar and followed Crouch through the door at a dead sprint. He vaguely noted that Lily had softened Rosmerta's brief flight and hoped that she would be preoccupied long enough for him to capture the Death Eater. Exiting the pub, he caught a glimpse of a green glow moving towards him from one side. Apparently, Crouch was a better fighter than Harry had first assumed. He wouldn't make that mistake again.

Harry dropped to the ground immediately, knowing he didn't have enough time to summon or conjure a defense to an Unforgivable. As he hit the ground, he Transfigured the ground beneath Crouch's feet into grasping hands that attempted to drag him to the ground. While Crouch was quick enough to sever the hands, it allowed Harry enough time to stand back up and gather his thoughts.

Crouch retaliated with a series of cutting curses with a couple blasting hexes mixed in. Harry weaved forwards through the cutting curses, while simultaneously batting the blasting hexes towards the sky. Unfortunately, avoiding collateral damage would be slowing Harry down in this fight, since he had no idea which houses were currently inhabited. Frustrated by Crouch's lack of concern for innocents, Harry conjured a massive blaze of flames that he forced into the shape of a lion. Several curses passed straight through the creature before Crouch destroyed it with a gust of wind directed towards Harry. In the same motion, the Death Eater made a pulling motion, causing a chimney on a nearby house to collapse towards Harry.

Harry thrust his wand towards the falling bricks, which stretched into small spears several feet long, then directed them towards Crouch. Forced to block against physical projectiles, he lifted the ground in front of him into a wall that the spears thudded into. Realizing that Harry was trying to move between him and the Apparition point, Crouch thrust his wand at some nearby houses, launching a trio of blasting hexes towards them. Harry paled when he saw motion in one of the houses, knowing none of the spells could reach the houses.

" _Contego!_ " Harry cast verbally for the first time, and three glowing shields materialized just before the Death Eater's spells hit, a gong sound ringing from each as the spell was observed. Harry took an instant to ensure that the spells were truly stopped, then turned and pursued Crouch towards the main street. As Harry skidded around a corner, he groaned, seeing the crowd of people that had gathered near the Three Broomsticks. Crouch sprinted towards them and cast another gust of wind that split the crowd like the Red Sea, sending them flying to the sides. Harry threw several cushioning charms to the sides but refused to slow down, intent on catching him before he could reach the Apparition point.

Brandishing his wand, Harry flung it forward, a tongue of flame reaching out and wrapping around the imposter's ankle, sending him tumbling to the ground. Before Harry was able to tighten the leash, though, Crouch used his strongest weapon against Harry: the crowd. A vivid green curse flew towards the crowd gathered in front of the Three Broomsticks. Knowing that it was unlikely for anyone else to respond in time, Harry had to release his fire whip, and he summoned the sign hanging above the Three Broomsticks. A second before it connected with a terrified woman, the sign intercepted the curse, exploding into dozens of large wood splinters that Harry immediately sent towards Crouch, who was now sprinting down the road.

Now that the crowd was in less danger, Harry was ready to go on the offensive. A barrage of piercing hexes flew from his wand at a near constant rate, bearing down on Crouch. The Death Eater saw them as he glanced back, and quickly threw up a shield. The first hex made it past his guard, striking him just above the knee, but he managed to absorb the rest even as he staggered. An angry scowl slid across his face, and a pale orange glow grew on the tip of his wand. Harry's eyes widened as he recognized the spell that was forming. Knowing he couldn't interrupt it in time, Harry scraped a rune in the dirt with his foot, then channeled as much magic as he could into it.

He was not an instant too soon. The Death Eater's wand gently, almost calmly, pointed towards the middle of the street. The orange orb traveled on a gentle arc, then touched down on the street. The next thing Harry registered was light. A blue barrier spread across the street from the rune he had drawn, holding back a storm of orange light. With the sound of falling glass, the barrier shattered, and a gust of wind blasted down the street. Harry was picked up and thrown several yards, but he was back to his feet almost as soon as he landed.

Where there had once been a street, there was now just a hole. Bricks were still clattering down the steep edges, and several buildings were now missing their front walls. Where Harry's rune had been drawn, there was a line where the damage stopped. Across the gaping hole, Barty Crouch, Jr. stood. Moody's fake leg and eye were on the ground beside him, his true appearance now visible to everyone. He had a wild grin on his face, apparently confident in his ability to escape now.

"I must say, boy, you're much better at this than I expected. Not many can block those effects," he taunted. "It's a shame you couldn't catch me, though. Not that it matters now." A wild laugh escaped his lips. "Don't worry, boy. At some point we'll meet again, and we can properly get to know each other."

Harry growled. "Leaving so soon, Barty?" he asked. The grin slid off Crouch's face.

"How do you know that name," he growled. His wand leveled at Harry. "How!"

Harry just smirked. "If you leave I won't be able to tell you, now will I?"

Crouch was about to answer when a voice cried out, " _Accio!_ " Crouch was yanked away forwards, flying across the crater in the street towards Lily Potter, who had a determined expression on her face and her wand pointed at the Death Eater. Twisting in midair, the man's face twisted into an expression of victory.

" _Avada Kedavra!_ "

Harry's eyes widened as he relived one of the worst moments in his memories. While the green curse sped towards Lily, Harry watched in his mind's eye as Voldemort commanded Lily to step aside.

" _NO!_ " Harry shouted, extending his left hand towards her in a grasping manner. His magic leapt to fulfill his desires, and Lily was yanked to the side at the last second, letting out a cry of pain as she landed. Harry's soul ached at the sight of his mother in pain, but he knew he couldn't get distracted now. Barty Crouch was already scrambling to his feet and running towards the Apparition point.

"Barty!" Harry shouted with anger in his voice. The Death Eater turned back but continued in his mad sprint. Harry scowled, his wand rising and unleashing all manner of spells. Blasting hexes, pain curses, and transfigured projectiles flew nearly nonstop from his wand, but at this range it was difficult to land a single spell. Harry watched as the imposter arrived at the Apparition point and turned, likely to gloat. Just as he did, a conjured disk of ice flew into his thigh near where the piercing hex had landed earlier, and a cry of pain fell from his lips as his leg was severed. As he collapsed, his body twisted, and with a _pop_ , he vanished.

"Damn it!" Harry swore. If it had been a simple fight, without the bystanders, Harry knew he would've been able to easily defeat the Death Eater, but the uncontrolled manner of his exposure had made it impossible.

A hand gently touched Harry's shoulder, causing Harry to spin and raise his wand, but he forced himself to relax, seeing Rosmerta standing next to him.

"Nic, are you… are you alright?" she asked hesitantly.

"Of course, Ros. Are you? I'm sorry about how quickly I pulled you away, but—"

"Oh hush, I know you had to do that. I'm incredibly grateful. Did he manage to hit you at all?"

Harry took stock of himself. He had a few sore spots from his short flight, but Crouch hadn't managed to land a single solid blow. "No, Ros, I'm fine, really. Did… did he manage to hit anyone back there?"

Rosmerta glanced at him as she gently guided him back to the pub. "Not at all. Whatever shield you cast managed to protect everyone, though there's a lot of repairs that'll need to be done," she said, glancing around at the partially destroyed buildings around them. Fortunately, I don't think the Three Broomsticks got too damaged, thanks to you."

The two were approaching Lily, who was brushing herself off as she stood, when a series of _cracks_ sounded from the Apparition point. Harry immediately turned and pushed Rosmerta behind him, wand raised. A group of Aurors had just Apparated in, but Harry didn't relax in the slightest. He'd had plenty of run-ins with Aurors when he was on the run, most of them unpleasant.

* * *

 _September 7_ _th_ _, 1996_

 _The first week of classes had finally come to an end, and it hadn't come an instant too soon. Classes had been brutal already, as if the professors thought that NEWTs were next month. Harry, Hermione, and Ron were all seated at the Gryffindor table for breakfast. As usual, Hermione had her nose buried in a large book, while Harry and Ron discussed their Quidditch prospects this year._

" _I dunno, it's gonna be quite the task to replace your brothers," Harry told Ron. "They were easily the best Beaters in Hogwarts since we've been here, and it'll be tough to train new ones from scratch. Not to mention the Chasers'll have to rework their strategies to work with the trainees."_

" _Oh, it won't be that bad," Ron replied. "We've got a few big guys, I'm sure it won't be that tough." Eggs spilled from Ron's lips as he spoke._

" _Really, Ronald, would it be that difficult to swallow your food instead of spitting it back?" Hermione asked, a disgusted look on her face._

 _Ron opened his still full mouth to reply but was interrupted by the doors to the Great Hall opening with a crash. Ron and Harry turned around as a group of Aurors entered. All but one of them remained by the doors, wands out for some reason, while their leader approached Dumbledore. A few quiet words were spoken, impossible to hear even in the silent hall. Slowly, Dumbledore placed his palms on the table and stood slowly, keeping eye contact with the Auror before him. In a blur of motion, Dumbledore raised his hand directly before himself, a red glow striking the Auror before he fell to the ground. Before the other Aurors could hope to react, Dumbledore cast several stunners with one wave of his wand, knocking the others out._

" _All professors, please keep the students inside the hall. I will return shortly," the headmaster said with uncharacteristic severity. He rose and strode from the hall, robes waving behind him. McGonagall sealed the doors with a wave of her wand as Harry stood and walked towards the head table._

" _Professor, what's going on?" he asked. McGonagall remained silent, and just gestured for him to return to his seat. He opened his mouth to reply again, but his eyes caught on a large amount of movement outside the windows. Harry moved around the table quickly before he could be stopped by the professors and gaped at what he saw outside._

 _Just outside the gates of Hogwarts was a mass of black-robed people. Flanking these, holding what appeared to be the people of Hogsmeade back, were the unmistakable red robes of the Ministry's Aurors. Standing before all of these, directly in front of the massive wrought-iron gates, was the form of Voldemort, distinguishable by his white skin and the large snake wrapped around his shoulders._

 _Voldemort had taken the Ministry._

* * *

Harry kept his wand raised as the men in red robes approached the massive hole in the street. The man in front of the group directed several of his subordinates to spread out into the side streets, while a few others began casting various detection spells near the crater. The lead Auror was about to step into the hole to cross towards them, when he spotted Harry.

"Wand!" the man called out. The other Aurors immediately stopped what they were doing, some casting shields while others transfigured physical barriers they could take cover behind. "Lower your wand now, slowly, or we will fire on you!" the man called out. Harry heard something familiar in that voice but refused to lower his guard.

"How do I know you're actually Aurors?" Harry replied testily, keeping himself between them and the crowd.

"James!" a voice called from behind Harry, momentarily breaking his concentration. "James, stop! He's not the one you're after, he was fighting against him," Lily said, walking forwards quickly. "We're safe now."

Harry's breathing picked up its pace. First his mother had nearly been killed by the fake Moody and now his father was here, trying to arrest him.

James looked cautiously at Harry. "Alright, let's both just calm down and lower our wands at the same time, alright?" he suggested, but Harry's wand was already down by his side as he did his best to keep his thoughts in line. The other Aurors slowly went back to their tasks, though two of them stuck to James' side and kept their attention on Harry.

Lily took this opportunity to run around the side of the crater into the arms of her husband. As they began to speak, Harry turned and began walking towards the Three Broomsticks again, followed by Rosmerta.

"Are you sure you're alright, Nic?" she asked with worry in her voice. "It's not exactly the smartest thing to threaten a bunch of Aurors, you know."

"That's probably true, but I had no way of knowing they were real Aurors," Harry replied. "For all I knew, they were friends of that guy that ran off, coming back to finish the job."

Rosmerta looked troubled by his response but didn't respond. Finally, they got back to the Three Broomsticks where the two set about repairing the slight damage the building had incurred. Fortunately, the only things damaged were the dishes Harry had knocked over and the door he'd blasted Crouch through.

Several minutes later, some of the Aurors came in, accompanied by Lily. Harry noted that one of them was carrying a shrunken bag, likely containing the severed leg of Barty Crouch.

"You're the one that dueled him?" James Potter asked, wasting no time with formalities. Though Harry normally appreciated this, his mind was still reeling from seeing his father in the flesh for the first time. He settled on a simple nod.

"Well, first of all, thank you," James said. "My wife told me about the fight, and according to her, you protected most of the village, not to mention her. We've just got a few questions for you, but I can't imagine you'll need to come into the Ministry."

Again, Harry just nodded. James motioned to a table near the front of the restaurant, and the pair sat down across from each other. Lily moved to assist Rosmerta with the few repairs that remained. However, before James could ask any questions, the door opened once more, revealing yet another form that Harry never expected to see again.

Albus Dumbledore swept into the pub, dressed in his usual flamboyant robes. Today, they were a pale blue, decorated with animated yellow moons and stars that flitted around his robes. He was accompanied by McGonagall, with her standard stern visage, and Severus Snape.

"Ah, James, my boy, so good to see you again," Dumbledore said with genuine pleasure in his voice. "Is everything alright now? I received a Patronus from your wife not long ago, she said something about an imposter?"

James stood and greeted the headmaster, "Yes, it seems everything is in hand now. Lily's fine, fortunately, and there's a lot of structural damage but nobody was injured," James explained. "This young man here was just about to tell me about what happened," he said, gesturing towards Harry.

The headmaster's piercing gaze moved to meet Harry's, who felt a light brush on his mental barriers. Scowling, Harry pushed back with just enough force to make it clear that he would not tolerate a second such attempt. Dumbledore, for his part, made no outward sign that he had noticed anything, and extended his wrinkled hand towards Harry.

"Pleasure to meet you, my boy, I am Albus Dumbledore," he said gregariously, firmly grasping Harry's hand. "I don't think I've seen you around here before," he added, clearly fishing for information.

"Nicolaus Blackwood. It's nice to meet you too," Harry said, revealing nothing but a small amount of disdain with his tone. Fortunately, Dumbledore seemed to attribute this to his attempt at Legilimency and made no comment on Harry's less than friendly response.

"Nic has just started working for me," Rosmerta said as she approached the group. "Good to see you again, Headmaster."

"And you as well, Ros. Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot to introduce my companions. Nicolaus, this is Minerva McGonagall, the Transfiguration professor up at Hogwarts, and this is Severus Snape, our Potions Master," Dumbledore said, indicating each of them as he spoke. Harry simply shook both of their hands as James cleared his throat.

"Excuse me, Headmaster, but I still need to question Mr. Blackwood about his involvement in today's incident," James said, gesturing again to the table they had been seated at. Harry immediately returned, sitting in the same seat as before.

"Excuse me, my boy, but would you mind if I sat in on this?" Dumbledore asked James. "I would very much like to know the events of today."

"Of course, Headmaster. Mr. Blackwood, the headmaster is also the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, so his part in this will be in an official capacity," James explained. "Now, what's your full name?" he asked, pulling a small notepad from his robes along with a quill.

"Nicolaus Blackwood," Harry responded.

"Now, would you please give us your version of today's events?"

"Not much to tell, really. He came into the pub, acting a bit odd, trying to use to Floo. Before he could leave, your wife came in and accused him of not being, err, Mad-Eye, I think she said?" Harry feigned confusion at the name.

James nodded. "That's his nickname."

"That makes more sense," Harry said. "Anyways, he didn't take kindly to that, and he grabbed Rosmerta over there before any of us could react. I managed to get her away from him, and then I chased him to the Apparition point. I managed to get him in the leg before he got away."

"Come, my boy, there must be more to it than that," Dumbledore said with a smile. "There was a significant amount of damage outside, how did that happen?"

"I mean, we were fighting while he was running. I was just trying to knock him out, but he did cast a few Unforgivables," Harry said. He was keeping his answers short intentionally, hoping that Dumbledore wouldn't be able to find out quite as much about him this way.

"And what of the giant crater in the street?" James asked. "That obviously wasn't an Unforgivable. Did you do that?"

"Of course not," Harry said. "He cast some weird spell when he was almost at the Apparition point. I barely managed to get a shield up in time to block the explosion."

"What spell did you use, my boy? It must have been quite impressive to stop that kind of damage," Dumbledore interjected.

Harry was growing tired of Dumbledore calling him 'my boy,' but did his best to keep his annoyance from showing. "Sorry, but that's family magic," Harry said. He knew the Ministry was legally not allowed to pursue family magic unless the person in question was accused of a serious crime.

"Come now, my boy, we must know what it was so that we can fully understand what happened today," Dumbledore pressed.

James sent a glare towards the headmaster. "You know we can't force him to tell us that, Headmaster," he said. Dumbledore raised his hands slightly in acquiescence, ceding the point.

"Now, Mr. Blackwood," James continued, "if you could just provide us your memory of the event, I think we can call it quits for today."

Harry shook his head emphatically. "No, I don't think so," he answered. "Feel free to ask whatever questions you'd like, but my memories are my own."

Dumbledore was looking more concerned by the moment. "My boy—"

"Excuse me, sir, but I am not 'your boy,' as you seem so fond of saying. Please, call me Mr. Blackwood," Harry interjected.

The ancient man nodded. "Of course. Now, you see, we really must have that memory. It is absolutely vital for the investigation—"

Harry interrupted again. "As I have already said, Mr. Dumbledore, any questions you have I will answer to my best ability. If you wish, I will provide you with an accurate depiction of the man, but you cannot have my memories."

Dumbledore still appeared perturbed, perhaps not used to being refused, but James was more accommodating. "That's fine, Mr. Blackwood. Headmaster, I'm sure we could get some memories from the villagers if need be." He turned back to Harry. "Now, I'm afraid I'll have to insist that you stay in contact for the next few days while we conduct our investigation. Where do you live?"

"I'm just staying upstairs here for now, you can find me here," Harry answered. Dumbledore looked pleased to learn that he would be nearby, but Harry just ignored him and focused on James. "Oh, there was one more thing. I'm afraid we do need to know the spell you used to… sever the man's leg," James said. Upon hearing this, Dumbledore looked aghast.

"You severed a man's leg?" Dumbledore asked. "Why would you do such a thing?"

"Mr. Dumbledore, the man was casting Unforgivables at the bystanders. I'm sorry, but I expect you know as well as I that a man with a strong will can fight through a stunner," Harry replied. "Given that he could cast Unforgivables, he clearly had a strong enough will. Fewer men can fight through that sort of pain, though." Harry was well acquainted with Dumbledore's strong aversion to violence but had long since formed his own opinions on the matter.

"My b—Mr. Blackwood, you must understand that people who are targeted with that sort of violence will only respond in kind," Dumbledore said in what he must've thought was a soothing tone. "We must show them kindness if we hope for them to change their ways."

"I appreciate your views, sir, but in the heat of a battle such as today's, that sort of idealism can get someone killed," Harry answered, frustration in his voice. He turned back to James. "I used a conjured piece of ice, it clipped him just as he was Apparating out."

James nodded, scribbling a few words on his notepad. "Alright, Mr. Blackwood, I think that's all. As I said, please stay in town here until you've heard word from us that the investigation has concluded," James said, standing and shaking Harry's hand. With a gesture, the remaining Aurors filed out of the pub. "Lils, I'll see you tonight?" he called to Lily, who was still talking with Rosmerta.

"Of course, dear," she responded with a smile, waving as he exited as well.

* * *

Soon afterwards, Dumbledore left the pub along with his fellow professors. There was something about the young man that seemed somewhat familiar to him, but he was also unsettled by him.

"Have any of you met Mr. Blackwood before?" he asked his companions. Both Lily and McGonagall nodded.

"We met him just yesterday, actually, when we came down with the students," Lily responded. "He seems like quite a nice young man, if a little quiet."

"What was your impression of the boy?" Dumbledore asked his deputy.

"Well, he was homeschooled," McGonagall answered, as if that was all he needed to know. "He lived in Australia, I believe."

Dumbledore hummed. "He seems very sure in his beliefs. I must admit, it is a little disturbing how easily he turns to violence."

Lily glared at the headmaster. "With all due respect, sir, if he hadn't been as strong a dueler as he is, I'm not sure I would even be alive right now," she said. "He saved my life, and most of the villagers as well."

"Be that as it may, my dear, he could certainly have done so in a less violent fashion, I'm sure," Dumbledore replied. Lily huffed lightly but didn't respond. "And you, Severus, what were your impressions of the boy?"

"He seemed a showoff to me, Headmaster," the dour man replied. "It's seems doubtful to me that he could have blocked that spell on his own, but he took credit for it anyways."

Dumbledore looked thoughtful. "That is quite likely, though his claim of family magic is also possible. I'll have to look into him some more. Minnie, would you be so kind as to request his records from the Ministry for me?"

* * *

The next few days passed quietly at the Three Broomsticks. Every morning, Harry and Rosmerta would help with the repairs around town, and in the afternoon, they would supply free meals to the workers. Several families were living in the spare rooms while their houses were being repaired, so Harry had to be very careful to keep his room sealed. He was looking forward to today, though, since Rosmerta had given him the day off.

" _Saphira, how would you feel about a little trip today?_ " Harry asked as he dressed that morning. " _I was thinking we could visit a zoo today, and we could spend some time looking at the snakes there._ "

" _What is a zoo?_ " the viper asked.

" _It's a place where humans keep animals, so that people can see and learn about them,_ " Harry explained. " _I know it sounds cruel, but most of them treat the animals very well. Not to mention, I believe there's a magical portion of the London Zoo._ "

Saphira was visibly excited. " _This sounds wonderful, Speaker,"_ she answered.

" _Salazar, would you like to come with us?_ " Harry asked. The python, coiled in the sun leaking in from the window, simply shook his head side to side. Shrugging, Harry lifted Saphira in his hands. " _Now, you're going to have to be discreet. Do you think you could wrap around my forearm, and I'll just tell you when we're at the serpent's exhibit?_ " She nodded emphatically, and quickly moved to said position.

About an hour later, Harry had paid the entry fee to the Muggle portion of the zoo and had quickly moved to the reptile exhibit. He and his companion moved through the area, making sure that she had a clear view of each of the snakes before moving on. A few of the snakes spoke briefly to Saphira, but most were content to merely bask under their heating lamps. Several of the snakes were of particular interest, including a king cobra, a giant anaconda, and an incredibly small threadsnake. Soon, though, they had completed the entire exhibit.

" _Well, Saphira, what did you think?_ " Harry asked quietly as he moved towards the entrance to the magical zoo.

The little snake hissed excitedly. " _That was wonderful, Harry. That's already about twenty more shapes I can take._ "

Harry chuckled at her enthusiasm. _"Well, we're not done yet,_ " Harry replied. He stepped behind a fence, then placed a hand on a knot in the wood. With a gust of wind, Harry was suddenly standing in a different location. He immediately knew he was in the right place, as all of the sounds from the animals were of a completely different variety. " _Alright, let's see what we can find here,_ " Harry said as he walked towards the ticket booth.

Harry was probably at least as excited as Saphira for this trip, as he had never had a chance to visit in his previous life. Despite his natural Parsel ability, he had never considered researching it, nor had he ever sought out snakes. Now, he was willing to take any advantage he could get.

It didn't take long until they reached the snake portion of the zoo. Unsurprisingly, the area was nearly deserted, driving home the national fear of all things snake. A man strode up as Harry approached the exhibit.

"Good afternoon, sir, and welcome to the Magical London Zoo. Anything I can help you with today?" the man asked.

"I was merely going to look at the snakes. It's this way, right?" Harry asked. The man looked shocked.

"You want to see the snakes?" he asked. "I honestly don't even remember the last time I saw someone come here who wasn't a magizoologist. I'd be happy to walk you through, if you'd like?"

Harry smiled. "That would be wonderful."

* * *

It took nearly two hours to get through the entire exhibit. The man had been a wealth of information, especially regarding the snakes that Harry had never even heard of before. The two most impressive were certainly the Svellsormr and the Quetzalcoatl, two mythical creatures that Harry never expected to see in person.

The Svellsormr was hard to even identify for sure as a snake, though the attendant assured him it was true. It was wraith-like, hard to even catch a glimpse of, even though it had a massive frame. It flew around its enclosure at high speeds, clouds of ice in its wake. Every now and then, Harry would catch a glimpse of razor sharp teeth nearly a foot in length. Saphira was quietly hissing from Harry's sleeve, excited to try out this new form.

The Quetzalcoatl was another majestic creature. This particular specimen was nearly pure black, with purple iridescence dancing about the edges of its feathers. It gave a single piercing glance towards Harry, then to his sleeve where Saphira's head was sticking out, then flew to the back of its cage in a flurry of feathers.

"Well, I must say, that was one of the most exciting exhibits I've ever been to," Harry told the attendant as they exited. "Some of those were truly incredible creatures."

"I'm just glad you enjoyed it, sir. They never get enough attention, what with their reputation and all," he replied. "If I may, what is your interest in them? You don't seem to be an academic," he inquired.

"Actually, I'm here due to one of my recently acquired pets," Harry answered. "Actually, I'd like to ask you about her, if you don't mind?"

"By all means, go ahead!" he answered with a smile.

Harry reached into his sleeve and coaxed Saphira out onto his palm, where she coiled up, her head staring at the attendant. "Meet Saphira. She's a—"

"By Merlin, a chameleon viper?" the attendant interjected. "I've never seen one in person! I heard that the Menagerie in Diagon recently acquired one, but it had already been purchased by the time I arrived. She's quite a beautiful specimen, sir," he exclaimed, crouching down to view the viper closer. "I certainly understand why you've come here."

"I'm glad you understand," Harry answered with a smile. "Anything you can tell me about her?"

"Well, she looks to be fairly young, maybe seven months? Though chameleon vipers are notorious for being fiercely independent almost immediately after they hatch," he explained. "They can take on the natural abilities of any snake that it has seen in the flesh, though not magical abilities. So, if your viper ever saw a basilisk, they would have the same venom, but wouldn't be able to kill with its eyes. However, the flight of some of our snakes is a natural ability, not magical, so she will be able to fly."

Harry was pleased to hear this, as he was looking forward to watching Saphira fly. "Anything else?"

"Not that I can think of. Though, I would suggest you occasionally have a trained magizoologist check her out. It can be incredibly difficult to tell if a snake isn't feeling well," he suggested.

Harry thanked the man, and soon arrived at back at the Three Broomsticks. He could tell Saphira was anxious to try out her new forms but felt he should invite Salazar first.

" _Salazar, would you like to join us outside?_ " Harry asked the python, who was still in the same position as when he left that morning. " _Saphira is itching to try out her new forms, but I figured you might want to watch._ " Salazar slowly uncoiled, mouth opening wide as he yawned.

" _Of course, Speaker, I would be most interested,_ " Salazar hissed. Harry lifted him to his shoulders, then Disillusioned him. He returned downstairs, telling Rosmerta that he was just going for a walk around the village.

Harry was soon walking along the edge of the Forbidden Forest, looking for a clearing that was entirely obscured from the village. He soon found a perfect location, a clearing nearly fifty feet across and nearly a mile from the nearest building. He lowered his hand to the ground and watched as Saphira slithered out of his sleeve.

" _Alright, Saphira, let's see what you've got!_ " Harry called, backing away to give her some space. For a few moments, she simply cycled through the more mundane snakes they had observed. In quick succession, she demonstrated each of the snakes to Salazar, who was impressed despite himself.

" _How about some of the more exotic ones?_ " Harry asked as Saphira returned to her natural form. With an excited hiss, she nodded, before closing her eyes. Her scales rippled rapidly, until suddenly large feathers burst from her skin. Laying on the ground before him was a small Quetzalcoatl, nearly identical in appearance to the one they had seen at the zoo.

" _Amazing,_ " Salazar mused. " _Can you fly, too?_ " Saphira hissed wordlessly, her feathers fluttering lightly in the breeze. Then, she surged into the air in a single motion, rapidly moving about the clearing, rising higher each second.

" _This is so amazing!_ " she called from above. " _I feel so incredibly free up here, I can't believe how I managed before._ "

" _Saphira, how about the Svellsormr?_ " Harry called up. One second, there was a black-feathered snake moving about the clearing, and the next, she was gone. A nearly invisible blur moved rapidly about, cold gusts of wind blasting against Harry, weaving between the treetops. She slowly came down, eventually settling on the grass in front of Harry.

She was magnificent. Nearly fifteen meters long and one across, she was nearly as large as the basilisk he had faced when he was twelve. She had fangs that were nearly as long as her normal form was, and a gust of frigid air left her mouth with each breath. Harry slowly paced around her, amazed that such a creature could even exist.

" _Saphira, this is absolutely incredible,_ " Harry breathed out. Salazar slid from Harry's shoulders, inspecting each translucent scale. The older snake seemed deep in thought, a low and steady hissing flowing from his mouth.

" _Speaker,_ " he finally said, " _I have made a decision._ " Harry nodded for Salazar to continue. " _I believe that the time has come for me to make my own way in the world._ " Harry was surprised to hear this, but he continued speaking before Harry could say a word. " _I have been a captive for most of my life, and I would love to see the world for myself._ "

Harry was saddened to see one of his only friends in this world go but knew he couldn't keep him from going his own way. " _I hope you will at least wait until tomorrow and allow me to find a way to protect you when you leave,_ " Harry asked. The snake nodded his head, agreeing to Harry's terms. Saphira's form shrank down to her usual size, though she remained in the form of the Svellsormr form, so was able to fly up to his shoulders before she returned to her black and blue coloring.

It was rather dark when they returned to Hogsmeade, so Harry allowed the snakes to remain on his shoulders for the moment, so they could get more fresh air before returning to his room. He was walking down the main street towards the Three Broomsticks when he saw a person walk up to the light spilling from the windows. He stopped in his tracks, recognizing the garishly dressed form of Albus Dumbledore, this time wearing a lime green robe decorated with animated wands. The aging headmaster opened the door to the pub and walked in, making Harry groan. He really did not want to deal with this right now.

* * *

 **Author's Note: Longest chapter to date! Please, let me know what you thought of the fight scene. I always have a rather clear image in my head of what's happening, but I worry that it doesn't always come out quite as clear when I write it. Hope you enjoy, and thanks to everyone who reviews, favorites, and follows!**

 **Edit: Inspiration and information about the Svellsormr comes from "The Monster Blog of Monsters."**

 **Edit, 11/8/19: Changed Harry's name.**

 **Edit, 11/16/19: Fixed spelling error.**


	5. Back to Hogwarts

Having Disillusioned and hidden both snakes beneath his robes, Harry entered the Three Broomsticks and saw Dumbledore quietly conversing with Rosmerta at one end of the bar. Hoping beyond hope that he could slip by unnoticed, he walked straight towards the stairs at the back.

"Nic!"

Harry groaned quietly and turned to face Rosmerta. "What is it, Ros?"

"The headmaster here was just wondering if he could have a word with you, Nic," Rosmerta called back, gesturing to where Dumbledore sat, eyes twinkling furiously.

"Alright, I'll be back in just a moment, after I drop of my robe in my room," Harry replied. He quickly scaled the steps and placed his robe and the two snakes on the bed. " _Sorry, Salazar, I'll take care of my promise when I get back,_ " Harry hissed, then returned to the pub.

"What can I do for you, Mr. Dumbledore?" Harry asked, intentionally refusing to use any of the man's many titles. It wasn't much but getting back at him in the little ways could be extremely satisfying.

"Ah, good evening, my boy," Dumbledore answered. "You see, after the altercation last week, I felt that I had to look into you."

Harry was surprised at Dumbledore's transparency. Usually it took much more effort to get this sort of response from him. Harry, of course, knew all about Dumbledore's inquiries, having received a letter from Gringotts several days ago.

"I must say," Dumbledore continued, "I was most impressed with your qualifications. Six NEWTs, and in the subjects normally considered the most challenging, too. Not to mention you already have a Master's Certification in Defense Against the Dark Arts!"

Harry nodded at Dumbledore's words, but didn't say a word, waiting for an actual question. The headmaster continued, unperturbed by Harry's silence.

"You see, after that man was outed as an imposter, I've had to take over responsibilities as the Defense teacher, but all of my responsibilities make it rather difficult to keep up. Naturally, Hogwarts is in the search for a new Defense professor, but the public believes that there is a curse on the position," Dumbledore explained. "As you can imagine, this makes it quite difficult to fill the position, especially in an emergency situation such as this."

Again, Harry stayed silent, simply nodding. He knew that silence would eventually bring the old man to his point and he was getting rather impatient. Dumbledore's twinkling eyes dimmed slightly at Harry's continued reticence but pushed on nonetheless.

"As such, I find myself in rather dire straits with the Board of Directors. They insist that I hire a qualified individual by the start of next week, otherwise they will appoint one for me. Now, as much as I appreciate their desire to keep the students' education at its peak, I'm not quite as confident in their ability to pick an appropriate instructor," Dumbledore expounded.

Once more, Harry simply nodded, this time while pouring a drink for a customer that had just sat down further down the bar. Harry noticed a miniscule twitch in Dumbledore's left eyebrow, one of the few tells the man had, and he knew he was beginning to become frustrated with Harry's lack of response.

"Since you have the necessary qualifications," Dumbledore began again, "I was curious if you would take up the position. On a temporary basis, of course, until it's been determined whether you have the correct, shall we say, temperament for instruction."

At this, Harry couldn't help but react. His jaw dropped slightly, and his eyes flickered over Dumbledore's face, looking for any sign that he was playing some strange practical joke on him. He found none and quickly schooled his expression, knowing that Dumbledore had already taken notice of his reaction. Dumbledore, offering _him_ a position as Defense teacher? What was wrong with this world.

"Err, that is quite the offer, Mr. Dumbledore," Harry responded, stalling for time. "What about the man who was being impersonated, I assume he has the necessary qualifications. Why not hire him to take the position he was originally offered?"

Dumbledore chuckled lightly at this. "You see, it was apparently the imposter who accepted the job in the first place. Alastor was quite vehement in his denial of ever having discussed it with me and refused to even consider taking the position."

Harry almost laughed at this, easily seeing Moody doing the same in his mind's eye.

* * *

 _September 9_ _th_ _, 1996_

 _The doorway to Number 12, Grimmauld Place, crashed open, revealing three forms standing in the doorway. With wet squelches emanating from their shoes, the trio pushed their way into the entryway, closing the door against the pouring rain and sighing in relief as they immediately began to warm up. Keeping their voices quiet, they quietly shuffled down the hallway and the stairs, finally arriving in the kitchen, where they sat down, clearly exhausted._

" _We finally made it," Ron finally spoke, away from the discerning ears of Walburga Black's portrait. "I thought it would take weeks to get away from those damn Death Eaters."_

" _Forget the Death Eaters, I can't believe we had to dodge the damn Aurors," Harry said angrily. "I can't believe the Ministry just turned itself over the Voldemort, just like that."_

" _Guys, it's not the Aurors fault. The Death Eaters are probably holding something over their heads. I'll bet they have their families under surveillance," Hermione stated. "Otherwise, there's no way that every single one of them would turn like that."_

" _Yeah, I guess you're—"_

" _Place your hands on the table in front of you right now, and maybe I won't blast your heads off," a gruff voice said from the shadows near the parlor. "Nice and easy, that's it." The trio carefully placed their hands down, though there was something familiar about that voice._

" _Is that—Mad-Eye?" Harry asked cautiously._

" _I'll be asking the questions, boy," the voice barked back, though Harry was now surer than ever that he was correct. "What was on the wall of my office in your fourth year?"_

 _Harry thought furiously. "Well, first off, unless your name is Barty Crouch Jr. and you managed to get your soul back from the Dementors, you never had your own office. But there was a Foe-Glass on the wall, if that's what you're after," he replied in a rush._

" _Alright, girly, what book did I catch you sneaking from the Black library two summers ago?" Moody growled out._

" _It was_ Magick Moste Evile _," Hermione replied shakily._

" _Alright, and Weasley, what did your mother tell you about me when she learned I would be teaching at Hogwarts?"_

" _She said not to get on your bad side because you're not afraid of using the Dark Arts," Ron replied._

 _Apparently satisfied, the door of the parlor opened and Alastor 'Mad-Eye' Moody stepped out and into the light, a twisted grin on his lips. "Well, kids, color me surprised. I didn't think anyone managed to make it out of Hogwarts after ol' Voldy attacked," Moody growled out. "Don't suppose anyone else will be joining us?"_

 _Harry shook his head. "Afraid not, Professor. We barely managed to get out as it was. Where's the rest of the Order?"_

 _Moody shook his head as well. "The problem is, they've all got family that aren't as active in opposing Voldemort as they are, and the Death Eaters did their homework before they struck. Pretty much all of the vital Ministry employees and anyone suspected of helping the Order didn't have much of a choice, seeing as all of their loved ones were being threatened."_

" _What about you, Professor?" Hermione asked. "How did you manage to get here unseen?"_

" _Stop calling me that, girly, we all know I never taught any of you. It's either Mad-Eye or Moody, got it?" the man grouched. "And you see, I don't have any loved ones, so they didn't have any leverage on me. As soon as I got word, I came straight here."_

" _So, what's the plan?" Harry asked the retired Auror._

" _Plan? What are you on about, boy? The only plan now is to survive. With no allies or supplies, we don't have a chance," Moody grumbled. "Obviously I can't ask you to leave, seeing as it's your house and all, but we're gonna have to take some precautions."_

 _Harry was livid at the man's response. "No plan? What do you mean? We can't just do nothing!"_

" _Didn't you hear me? We've got nothing. No supplies, no manpower, no intelligence, nothing! You tell me, genius, how_ exactly _do you plan on winning this thing?" Moody demanded._

 _Harry wilted slightly at this. "We… well, we figured that you would have a plan," he admitted._

" _Sorry to burst your bubble, Potter, but there's not much we can do at this point," Moody said, calming slightly. "We'll have to take our opportunities as they come, where we can do the most damage."_

 _A fire lit in Harry's eyes at this. "You can teach us!"_

 _Moody looked aghast at this suggestion. "Teach you? Keep dreaming, boy, I haven't taught anyone since the Auror Academy, and that was years ago."_

" _Well, Professor, we can't do anything to help you if we haven't been trained," Hermione argued. "If you teach us how to fight, we can do four times as much!"_

 _Moody's expression fell, knowing he was losing this battle. "I'm not a babysitter, damn it!"_

* * *

Harry snapped back to the moment, where Dumbledore was still smiling at Harry, waiting patiently for a response, having realized that he'd managed to knock the boy off guard.

Harry considered the offer. On the one hand, he would certainly be under increased scrutiny at Hogwarts, increasing the likelihood of his fake identity being uncovered. However, he knew that if he had any hope at slowing Voldemort's plans down, Hogwarts was the place to be. He sighed internally, knowing what his decision would have to be, but still not liking it.

"Well, Mr. Dumbledore, I suppose I must accept your extremely generous offer," Harry said, not sounding very enthused about it. "When would I have to start?"

"Wonderful! How about this Monday? That will give you the whole weekend to get moved in and settled," Dumbledore replied. "Will you need any help moving your belongings?"

"No, no, Mr. Dumbledore, that's quite alright. Will I be able to get into the grounds on my own?" Harry asked.

"Not the first time. How about this, I'll send our groundskeeper down to the gates tomorrow morning around, say eleven, to bring you up to the castle?" Dumbledore suggested. "Oh, and if we'll be working together, I insist that you call me Albus," he added.

Harry grimaced slightly at this but responded in kind. "In that case, I insist that you call me Nicolaus," he answered politely. "Now, I would like to continue to work here on the school's Hogsmeade weekends, if that's alright?"

"Of course, Nicolaus, of course. We wouldn't want dear Rosmerta to be overrun by our students, now would we?" Dumbledore replied with a laugh.

Harry just smiled. "Well, if that's settled, I suppose I'd better get packing?" Harry asked, pushing away from the bar. Dumbledore stood as well, a genial smile on his lips.

"Of course, of course. It was a pleasure speaking with you, Nicolaus, and I look forward to working with you," Dumbledore replied, offering his hand to Harry, who shook it firmly. With a final farewell, the old man left the pub.

Harry let out a deep sigh, hating that he would be leaving Rosmerta to run the Three Broomsticks on her own. He walked over to her, shoulders slightly drooped.

"Accepted his offer, have you?" she asked, a knowing smile on her lips.

"How did you—"

"Oh, the headmaster told me all about it while we were waiting for you," she replied. "Don't worry, Nic, I understand. It really is a much better opportunity."

"Well, I negotiated to be able to work here on Hogsmeade weekends, so at the very least you won't be completely swamped," Harry told her. She smiled back at him.

"Well thank Merlin for small favors, I'm not sure how I ever managed without you." Rosmerta shooed him away. "Go on, now, I know you must have a lot of packing to get to." Harry grinned lightly at her, before moving to the stairs.

" _What's going on with the old geezer?_ " Saphira asked as he reentered his room.

Harry laughed at her words. " _Actually, I just got a new job up at the school. Want to come along?_ "

" _Of course, I do, silly human. I only told you that I would a few days ago,_ " Saphira replied.

" _Alright, alright,_ " Harry said, still laughing. " _Salazar, I suppose you still want to go off on your own?_ "

" _Yes, Speaker, though if you wish for me to stay, I will,_ " the python answered.

" _No, no, I wouldn't want to keep you from moving on with your life,_ " Harry insisted. " _Though I would like to give you that protection, if you don't mind?_ " The snake nodded, and Harry gently lifted him to his desk. " _Now, my plan is to carve a few runes into some of your scales. If I do it properly, I'll be able to set up a weak ward around you that will deter any creature that wants to harm you. I promise it won't affect prey, though._ "

" _Scales shed, though. How long will it last? And will it hurt to apply?_ " Salazar questioned.

" _They should last for at least three sheddings, I would imagine. And no, they won't be too deep,_ " Harry assured the snake. Salazar nodded once more, and Harry began the delicate process.

* * *

The next morning, Harry glanced around his room. He had all of his clothes back in one of the trunks on his necklace and had just finished dismantling the wards on the door. The snakes' cages were both shrunk and stored as well. He had Disillusioned the now-protected Salazar and placed him on his shoulders, and Saphira was safely in his sleeve once more. Sighing, he left the room and walked downstairs where Rosmerta was waiting for him.

"It's sad to see you go, Nic, but just promise you'll visit, alright?" she said with a smile.

"Of course, I will, Ros," Harry answered. "You know, since I'm a professor now, I can invite people to the castle. How about you come pay _me_ a visit next weekend?"

"That sounds wonderful," Rosmerta answered, her eyes looking dangerously damp. "Now get out of here, before I can't let you."

Harry laughed and left the pub, sending a final wave towards Rosmerta as he left. He took a slight detour near the Forbidden Forest and placed Salazar on the ground gently when he arrived.

" _Thank you, for everything, Speaker,_ " Salazar hissed. " _Perhaps I will see you around if you are ever in the forest._ "

Harry smiled at his friend. " _You'll always be welcome to stay with me, Salazar,_ " Harry answered. " _How about, in a month, we meet each other here? We can keep in touch that way, and maybe I'll have figured out a better way to contact you._ "

" _I will be here, Speaker,_ " Salazar responded, before slithering through the grass and into the forest beyond.

Harry stayed for a few moments, then began walking to the gates so he wouldn't be late. Just as the gates came into view, he saw the massive form of Hagrid approaching from the far side.

"Ah, Nicolaus, good to see you again!" the large man called out, pushing the gates open. "Looking forward to yer new job?"

"Hi, Hagrid," Harry answered. "Well, I've never taught before, actually. Albus sort of sprung this on me. Got any tips for me?"

"The most important thing is to make sure the students understand that you're the boss of 'em. If they think they can get away with messin' around in your class, you'll never get nothin' done," the half-giant replied. "Took me a few lessons to figure that out, and even more to undo that damage."

Harry nodded, remembering how wild Hagrid's classes had been, especially his first few. "Excellent advice, thank you." He was looking around, finding it hard to believe that his beloved school was still intact. The last time he had been here, the castle looked as if it were ready to crumble to dust at a stiff breeze.

The pair walked quietly towards the main entrance to the castle, which Harry appreciated. It gave him time to gather his thoughts, but it was over much too soon for Harry's liking. Students were walking around the grounds here and there, but seeing as it was a Friday, most of the students were in class. There on the front steps, though, Harry could see Dumbledore waiting for them.

"Ah, Nicolaus, good to see you again, and welcome to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!" the old man finished with a flourish. "You'll find no finer institute of learning anywhere else in Europe, at least in my opinion," he chuckled. "Come, let me show you to your classroom, and then to your quarters. Thank you, Rubeus."

"Not a problem, Headmaster," the large man said, turning and heading towards his hut.

"Right this way, please, Nicolaus," Dumbledore ushered Harry into the castle. "Actually, I suppose I should ask first, do you have any preference regarding your classroom and quarters? I was going to show you to the usual ones, but we have enough spare classrooms that you could pick most any location in the school."

Harry thought carefully to his years at the school, considering which classroom he would like to teach in the most. "Hmm. How about on the first floor? Makes it easy for all of the students to find, and I assume it's roughly the same distant from all of the dorms?" Harry suggested.

"Wonderful, wonderful. I think I know just the place," Dumbledore answered jovially. "Right this way, please." Dumbledore began walking Harry through the Entrance Hall, then down a hallway near the Grand Staircase. "You have two options, I believe. There's a smaller lecture room just here, and a larger room just across the hall. What do you think?"

"Both, I think," Harry answered. Dumbledore turned, surprised.

"Both? My dear Nicolaus, I assure you that you won't need two classrooms. Everything is scheduled perfectly already," Dumbledore explained.

"You misunderstand me, Albus," Harry answered. "A smaller classroom will be great for lectures and tests, but a large room will be much better for practicals," he explained. "Perhaps, in my spare time, I could allow for supervised practice as well. That way, the students won't feel the need to practice potentially dangerous spells on their own."

"Nicolaus, that is a most wonderful idea," Dumbledore beamed. "Now, we have two sets of rooms nearby. The one just next to the lecture room is slightly larger but has no windows. The one at the end of the hall is slightly smaller but has a balcony with a wonderful view of the lake."

Harry didn't hesitate. "The one with the view, certainly," Harry answered.

Dumbledore inclined his head and gestured for Harry to continue down the hall. They soon reached the end, where they came face to face with a detailed statue of a large cat. It was slender and had a golden collar around its neck. Its long tail curled around its feet, ending in a sharp, bony blade. Harry stared at it, nonplussed.

"This, Nicolaus, is a Magimau, a rather rare magical cat found only in Egypt. Now, you will be able to set your own password and other protections, though I ask that you ensure that you can always be contacted from the outside of your rooms," Dumbledore explained. "For now, I'm sure she will move aside if we simply ask nicely." He turned to the statue. "Excuse us, please," he said, and the cat gracefully moved to the side, stone eyes piercing Harry with their gaze. The two men entered the passage that had opened behind it.

Harry stared about happily when he entered. It was not a massive apartment by any means, but had a sizable sitting room, along with what appeared to be a bedroom and bathroom. To the left, two glass doors opened onto a balcony where Harry could see the lake, as Dumbledore had promised. "This looks absolutely wonderful, Albus," Harry said, excitement clear in his voice.

"I'm glad you like it. You may make whatever changes you wish, as like, as long as you can undo them," Dumbledore told him before pulling a pocket watch from his robes. "It looks like lunch has just ended, though if you are hungry, you can just call a house elf," he said. "Dinner starts at five and goes until seven. If you need anything else before then, just send an elf with a message."

"Thank you for this opportunity, Albus," Harry said. "I know you don't know me very well, but I assure you I will do my best to live up to the school's reputation."

"I'm sure you will, Nicolaus," Dumbledore smiled at him. "I'll see you at dinner, then." The headmaster turned and left the room, and Harry watched as the door sealed behind him. Immediately, Harry allowed Saphira to leave his sleeve and explore the rooms. He cracked his knuckles, magic sparking between his fingertips. It was time to get to work.

* * *

Nearly three hours later, Harry looked around his rooms and decided he was pleased with the results. A large area near the window, next to the door leading to the balcony, had been transformed into a habitat for Saphira. He had transfigured the stone floors into a loose dirt and planted a couple trees he had in stasis. He had decided on a pair of small leadwood trees that had intertwining branches, perfect to crawl about on. The entire area was warded to remain at whatever temperature Saphira desired and would automatically change as she wanted. On the balcony, he had placed a small table, along with a pair of chairs.

The sitting area had been expanded, and now included a couch, loveseat, and an armchair, all pulled from yet another of his trunks. He increased the size and depth of the fireplace and enchanted it to stay lit at all times. A large coffee table sat between the chairs, on top of a thick, dark red carpet. Across the room, opposite the balcony, Harry had placed a large desk, along with a comfy chair. He hadn't needed to make many changes to the bathroom or bedroom, just a few strategically placed expansion charms and some color changes. It had been suspiciously red and gold when he first entered.

He glanced at the clock and realized that he would be late for dinner if he didn't leave soon. Leaving Saphira to continue examining her new home, he walked out into the hallway. Seeing the cat statue move to the side reminded him that he still needed to set a password. He didn't need to think for long.

"My password is _Mischief Managed_ ," he whispered, the last part in Parseltongue. He knew it wouldn't keep Dumbledore out for too long, but he had plans to add a significant amount of warding to his rooms before the weekend was over. Satisfied for the moment, Harry began walking towards the Great Hall. The dull roar of students conversing soon filled the air, reminding Harry what it was like to be home. He smiled as he rounded the corner and entered the Great Hall.

For a moment, he froze at the sight of the Great Hall filled with laughing students again. The last few times he had been here, it had been either a scene of fear or grief. It was quite a shock to see it full again, even more so with people he hadn't seen in years.

He took a faltering step towards the Gryffindor table out of habit, before correcting his path and walking towards the head table. He determinedly kept his gaze from moving to either side, knowing he wouldn't be able to keep his reactions to himself. Instead, he kept his gaze locked on the head table, trying to figure out where he would be sitting. There were several seats still empty, and he didn't know which were already claimed by other professors. Instead of risking embarrassment, he walked up to Flitwick.

"Excuse me," he began, but was cut off before he could continue.

"Nicolaus! It's great to see you again," the excitable professor interrupted. "I heard about your duel in Hogsmeade, and I must say I'm excited to see you teach."

"Thank you, Professor Flitwick," Harry smiled back, "and please, call me Nic."

"Oh, it's Filius, please," he replied.

"Filius, would you happen to know which of these seats is mine?"

"Well, the last Defense teacher sat here, next to me," Flitwick indicated with a wave of his hand. "You're welcome to take his spot!"

"Thank you, I will," Harry smiled back, moving around the table and sitting in the chair, Flitwick on his left. He nearly sighed as he sat down. Apparently, the teacher's chairs had rather extensive cushioning charms, making the wood chairs incredibly comfortable.

"How are you settling into your rooms?" Flitwick asked while they waited for the food to appear.

"Pretty well, so far. I made a few modifications, but nothing too major," Harry responded, still hesitant to look around the hall. "Would you mind telling me how the houses work here?"

"Not at all," Flitwick responded. "We have four: Gryffindor, on the left, then Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin on the right. Their first night here, the first years are sorted with an artifact that was supposedly created by the founders, and they remain in those houses throughout their time at Hogwarts."

"Why sort them so early? I mean, isn't it kind of strange to sort people when they're that young?" Harry asked, genuinely curious to get a professor's perspective on this.

Flitwick sighed. "Tradition, mostly. From what I've read, sorting used to be a matter of what the parents of the student wanted their children to specialize in. That way, they would be exposed to those topics earlier on." He paused for a drink of water. "However, eventually it just became sorting for the sake of sorting, and the hat was modified to sort based on certain traits about three hundred years ago. That's when the house rivalries really started, though they were mostly friendly with each other until You-Know-Who came here. He really soured inter-house relationships."

Harry nodded, processing Flitwick's words. "So, if the hat can be modified, why doesn't the headmaster change it to sort on different criteria? Or sort them later on?"

"Honestly, I think he would if he could get away with it. Unfortunately, the Board of Directors, in their infinite wisdom, has severely curtailed the headmaster's ability to make any lasting changes here," the short man replied.

"Ah, good to see you again, Nicolaus!" a feminine voice called out from his right. He turned and saw Lily Potter pulling her chair out and sitting down. "I would've been there to greet you this morning, but I've had class all day today. How do you like the castle?"

Harry mentally calmed himself before replying. "It's quite amazing. In particular, I found it quite curious that my first floor living quarters seem to be attached to a balcony on the third or fourth," he answered with a laugh. Flitwick and Lily joined him.

"Yes, there are many such oddities around the castle. I once found a staircase that went down from the first floor and came out in Gryffindor Tower!" Lily added. "Though, I was never able to find that passage again."

Just then, the food appeared on the plates before them. His neighbors were soon engrossed in their food and other conversations, so Harry began to cautiously glance around the hall, starting with the Slytherins. As far as he could tell, everyone in that group was the same as when he had attended class at Hogwarts. He spotted Malfoy sitting near the end of the table, surrounded by his usual gang.

His eyes slid next to the Ravenclaw table. He saw Luna Lovegood sitting near the middle, with several empty seats on either side. A pulse of anger shot up in him when he saw the glances and smirks being tossed her way but managed to push it down. He vowed then that he would do whatever he could to end the cruel behavior of her classmates but knew that he would need time to make it happen.

He saw no changes at the Hufflepuff table, either. He saw Cedric Diggory making eyes with Cho Chang, and Susan Bones quietly talking to Hannah Abbot near the close end, but no changes in the students. He began to relax. Perhaps things weren't as different as he had feared.

These hopes were destroyed the moment he glanced to the Gryffindor table. His heart nearly stopped when he saw Ron and Hermione, though they weren't seated next to each other. Seeing Ron again was nearly enough to send him running back to Hogsmeade.

* * *

 _December 19_ _th_ _, 1997_

 _With a_ pop _, four figures appeared from nowhere on a rock that was jutting from the sea a short distance from a cliff. Wands out, they scanned their surroundings before jumping, one by one, into the waves below. Rapidly, the figures cut through the sea before disappearing at the base of the cliff._

 _Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Mad-Eye dragged themselves from the icy water, quickly casting drying and warming charms on each other. Mad-Eye ignored the quiet chatter between the younger members of the group and moved to a smooth wall that was nearby. He muttered quietly as his wand drifted about on the face, then gave a sound of victory when he apparently found what he had been searching for._

" _Over here, you lot," he growled out. "This here is keyed to a single substance, and it needs to be doused with a certain amount of it before it will open. Based on the substance, it's designed to weaken anyone who wants to enter. Who can tell what it is?"_

 _The three Gryffindors waved their own wands across the rock face, each with a focused expression on their faces, until—_

" _Blood!" Harry called out, immediately covering his mouth and apologizing for his loud outburst._

" _That is correct, Potter, but keep your damn voice down. Fortunately, I don't think ol' Voldy counted on people using teamwork here. Everyone, just use a light cutting curse on your hands and rub your palm on the wall," Moody instructed. They did so, and soon found themselves in a pitch-black void._

"Lumos Solem _," Moody whispered, and a ball of bright light burst from his wand and drifted forward at the wizard's direction. All four were shocked to see a massive underground lake before them, the water as black as the cave had been before Moody's spell. A tiny island was barely visible in the center of the lake._

" _Alright, just hold tight a moment," Moody grumbled, reaching an arm to his side, grasping at the air until his hand latched onto something. A few yanks later, and a tiny wooden dingy drifted into sight from around the corner._

" _Alright, kids, you know the drill. Tell me what you can sense," Moody demanded. Once again, the three waved their wands in complicated patterns above the raft._

" _There's something here, maybe… something like a limiter? Telling the boat when it's full?" Hermione said hesitantly. Harry had already moved back already, a light grin on his lips._

" _Something here, too… almost like a clock?" Ron guessed._

" _Care to tell them, Potter?" Moody elbowed the dark-haired teen beside him._

" _The boat will only allow one adult wizard and one non-adult in the boat. If that first ward detects more than that in the boat, it'll sink immediately. The clock actually measures the age of the people in the boat," Harry said confidently._

" _Excellent, lad, excellent. Now, it won't move unless there's an adult in the boat, so I'll have to take you across one at a time. Potter, you're up."_

 _Over the course of the next twenty minutes or so, the group was ferried across the sick-looking lake. Once there, they gathered around the pedestal and inspected the bowl._

" _Well, the only think I can tell is that it's not a deadly poison," Moody said after several minutes of inspection. "However, it also must be drunk. Observe." Moody first attempted to vanish the fluid, to no effect, then scooped some out with a conjured goblet. He overturned it, allowing the fluid to leak out, but just before it splashed on the stone, it vanished, and the bowl refilled to its previous height._

" _So, it would seem that one of us will have to drink it. I'm sure it will be most unpleasant, but I'm confident that we'll be able to repair any damage done once we get out of here," Moody told the group. "We'll draw straws."_

 _They did so, and Harry was completely unsurprised to see that he held the shortest straw in his hand. "Well, bottoms up," he joked, but it fell flat. He scooped some out with the goblet that Moody had handed him wordlessly and downed it as quickly as he could._

 _Harry could only ever remember flashes of what happened next. He remembered reliving again and again the worst moments of his life, starting with the murder of his parents. Sirius' death also played a prominent role. After what seemed like eons, he finally became aware of one thing: his thirst. He was aware of nothing except the awareness of a massive body of water nearby that looked ideal for him to drink. Slowly, achingly, he pulled himself along, wishing for nothing more than to submerge himself in the cool water. Finally, he managed to touch the wonderful liquid, and he brought a mouthful to his parched lips._

" _No!" Ron yelled, not noticing Harry's quest for water until it was too late. The instant Harry's hand broke the surface of the water, what seemed like hundreds of hands broke the glassy surface, all clawing their way towards his best friend. He banished Harry back against the wall and took up a dueling stance in front of his body. Already, there were nearly two dozen pale, shuffling corpses pushing their way towards the pair. Across the lake, he saw gouts of flame bursting from both sides of the small boat as Moody and Hermione slowly made their way back towards them._

 _Focusing on the problem at hand, Ron began blasting the animated bodies back with banishers and fireballs, but for each one he managed to dispose of, it seemed three more would come to replace. A fire whip raced from the tip of his wand, racing back and forth, searing the rotting flesh that was grasping for him._

 _After what seemed like hours but was likely only about two minutes, Moody and Hermione managed to fight their way onto the shore. "Let's go!" shouted the grizzled Auror as he cleaved a path through the swarms of Inferi. Ron grasped Harry by the back of his robes and bodily dragged him towards the exit._

" _Moody, the doorway is sealed!" Hermione yelled in a panic. Moody was unable to respond, though, due to the bodies that had managed to grab onto his fake leg. Ron, chanced a glance towards the door, and saw that Hermione had spoken the truth._

" _Hermione, take Harry," he commanded, voice leaving no room for argument. Hermione immediately ducked under Harry's other arm, continuing to launch flames at the crowding corpses as she did so. Ron sliced his palm once more, willing the blood to spill from his hand faster, to no avail. The door was still sealed. "Shit!"_

 _He felt a dull pain in his ankle, and he was shocked to see a head and part of a torso latched to his foot. The things teeth were deep in his flesh, eyes empty and dead. With a violent kick, the thing lost its grip and flew off into the lake. Ron rubbed his hand once more along the wall. He saw a dark streak of something black mixed in with the vivid red but paid it no mind as he saw the door fade to nothing. "It's open, let's go!" he shouted, nearly falling through the opening. The others followed quickly, and not a moment too soon as the wall faded back into place. All four of them collapsed onto the floor, gasping heavily._

" _Well," Ron panted, "that wasn't too bad." A bark of laughter leaped from Moody's lips, but nothing came from either Harry or Hermione. "Harry, you okay?"_

" _Yeah, I think so," a weak voice answered._

" _Weasley," Moody called, "how did you get through that wall?"_

" _Same way as before," he answered. "Just took a lot of blood."_

 _Moody scrambled to his feet faster than seemed possible. "That can't be right," he growled. "There were two identifier spells on that wall. Blood shouldn't have worked both ways."_

 _Ron frowned. "I mean, I cut my hand like before. I was rubbing it on the wall, had to kick away one of the Inferi, and then it opened."_

 _Moody's eyes slowly dropped closed. "Ron, did it manage to bite you, by chance?"_

" _Yeah," Ron replied, pulling up his pantleg. "Just a little scratch on the ankle…" his voice faded at the grim look on Moody's face. "Something wrong?"_

 _Roughly, Moody dropped to the ground. "All Inferi are inherently poisonous," the Auror finally managed to spit out. "Something to do with the process of their creation. Unless it's treated within a minute or so, it's inevitably… deadly." Harry and Hermione, by this point, had managed to make their way over._

" _You… you mean…?" Ron's face paled, not all of it from the shock. He had finally gotten a look at his leg. The skin around the wound was black, and the blood pouring from it was a disgusting mix of red and black. "I don't…"_

* * *

Harry forced his eyes to open, breaking free from his memories. He forced his eyes away from his old friends and glanced around the rest of the table instead. He saw a couple of younger students that he didn't recognize whatsoever but assumed that was just because he never really interacted with anyone outside his own year.

He saw the Weasley twins as well, heads together as usual. Every so often he would catch them glancing at him, and he groaned internally. Of course, the twins would want to prank the new professor. Harry vowed to give as well as he got with those two. Fortunately, Harry knew most of their tricks. He continued glancing about the Gryffindor table, when his eyes locked with another unfamiliar face.

The girl was talking to Hermione at the moment, facing away from him. Her hair was long and drawn back in a ponytail which waved back and forth as she animatedly described something to Harry's best friend. From what he could tell, she was fairly tall, certainly taller than he was in his natural form at this age. Hermione said something to her, and she turned towards the head table.

Harry's eyes locked with hers. They were a vivid green, nearly the exact same shade as the Killing Curse he knew so well. They were also the exact same eyes he saw in the mirror every morning.

* * *

 **Author's Note: Finally back at Hogwarts! Only took me a day to get this written, but I'm going to try to pace my updates a little bit. Hopefully if I get too busy to write, I'll have a few chapters in reserve. Thanks to everyone who favorites and reviews!**

 **Note:** **Inspiration and information about the Magimau comes from "The Monster Blog of Monsters."**

 **Edit, 11/8/19: Changed Harry's name.**


	6. First Class

Harry relaxed as those eyes drifted off of his own and settled on Lily, who waved down to the girl with a smile. Noticing his eyes on her, Lily smiled and spoke up.

"That's my eldest daughter, Evelyn," she explained. "She's in fourth year right now. And down the table, you see those two with the messy black hair? That's my son, Adrian, and younger daughter, Alyssa." Indeed, the younger students that Harry hadn't recognized earlier did have quite a resemblance to both James and Lily. "They both started at Hogwarts this year, so I decided I'd find something to do with my free time," she joked.

Harry forced a laugh out, but fortunately, Lily didn't seem to notice. "So, this is your first year teaching?" Harry asked, desperate to keep the conversation away from himself while he regathered his thoughts.

"It is!" she replied excitedly. "Eve kept telling me how poor the History class was here. It's been taught by a ghost for the past few decades, but apparently, he got stuck on just a few topics. I figured that I wouldn't be doing much just sitting at home, and Albus was quite keen on finding someone who was actually qualified." Harry nodded, understanding her reasoning.

"Well, I guess we can figure out this whole teaching thing together," Harry said with a laugh.

"Of course, of course," Lily replied. As she was about to continue, the food vanished from the plates in front of them. "Oh, I suppose the headmaster is getting ready to introduce you." As if hearing her words, Dumbledore pushed back his throne-like chair and raised his hands in a call for silence, which quickly fell.

"I hope your meal was as nourishing as it was delicious! I know that many of you have been wondering about what became of our dear Defense professor. I'm afraid that Professor Moody has decided that teaching at Hogwarts is not quite his cup of tea, and he has instead returned to the Auror Academy to focus his talents elsewhere. However, we have been fortunate enough to retain the talents of something of a prodigy in the Defense area. Please, join me in welcoming our new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, Nicolaus Blackwood!" Dumbledore exclaimed, seemingly doing his best to make a production out of the announcement.

Harry chose to simply stand and give a light bow to each of the four tables before sitting again. There was a light scattering of applause, but most of the students just looked nonplussed. Dumbledore looked like someone had kicked his favorite puppy at Harry's lackluster welcome, but apparently had further announcements to give.

"Yes, yes, I'm sure he will do an excellent job. However, I do have several more announcements that I would like to address," Dumbledore continued. "First of all, our guest schools will be arriving with their shortlist of competitors in just over a week. I expect for all of you to be proper hosts," he warned lightly, glancing slightly towards two entirely too innocent looking red-headed twins. "In the light of international cooperation, their delegations will be joining our own classes during their stay." Harry was surprised, as this was quite a difference from his own memories. Dumbledore pushed on.

"Finally, the Ministries of Britain, Bulgaria, and France have determined that there will be an age limit of just fourteen years," Dumbledore announced, annoyance clear in his voice. He waited a moment while the clamor died down from this announcement. "Yes, I'm sure that many of you are excited for the chance to compete for the glory of the Triwizard Cup, but I simply want to issue you another warning. This is not a game, nor will it be safe like your classes. I will put it in the bluntest of terms; this tournament has been deadly in the past, and the organizers will not be pulling any punches. If you are selected as champion, you must face the reality that not everyone survives this tournament."

The faces of the students had sobered significantly. Even the Weasley twins were less enthusiastic now, though Harry knew they would still be submitting their names. He leaned over to Flitwick.

"Did you hear about this?" Harry asked. "The last _Prophet_ said the limit was supposed to be seventeen."

Flitwick looked upset at this. "Yes, that's what it was supposed to be. Apparently, there were some outside influences who insisted the age limit be lower, to 'ensure everyone gets their opportunity.'"

Harry didn't need a moment to guess who that would be. Undoubtedly, after Crouch was revealed as an imposter, Voldemort had contacted Lucius, and the elder Malfoy had leaned on the minister to ensure that the Boy-Who-Lived could still be a competitor. Hopefully, Dumbledore would talk to him about potential protections, but he knew he couldn't count on it.

Harry escaped his reverie as Dumbledore dismissed the students, who left to their dorms with a dull roar of conversation, mostly focused around the tournament. Harry stood and stretched, along with the rest of the professors.

"Nicolaus," Dumbledore called, "could you come here a moment?" The professors on the other end of the table had gathered closer to the headmaster, apparently waiting for introductions. Harry walked closer.

"Nicolaus, I'm pleased to officially welcome you to Hogwarts!" the headmaster exclaimed. "We normally have a small get-together at the beginning of the year to welcome everyone back, but I figured we could have a small one tonight, so you could meet everyone." A collection of desserts and other snacks appeared on the head table, along with some alcoholic beverages. "We'll have a staff meeting on Sunday to go over more of the specifics, but for now, everyone enjoy!" Before he could even take a step towards the table, he was surrounded by the staff, all eager to introduce themselves.

"Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Blackwood," greeted one of the professors Harry had never spoken to. She was rather young, even a few years younger than Lily. "Bathsheda Babbling, at your service. I'm the Ancient Runes professor here. I heard that you have a NEWT in Ancient Runes, is that true?"

"Please, call me Nic," Harry said to the room at large. "Yes, I do, though I use it more for practical than academic purposes," he explained.

"Ah, you're a warder, then?" she asked, intrigued.

"I dabble, yes," he said with a smile.

Another woman stepped up. "Septima Vector, pleased to make your acquaintance," she said. Based on her appearance, Harry guessed her age to be somewhere between McGonagall and Babbling. She had a rather serious face but was smiling as she spoke. "I'm the Arithmancy professor. What was your Arithmancy project you completed for your NEWT, if you don't mind me asking?"

"I devised a temporary ward scheme that could be easily customized by the caster," he responded. "The caster doesn't even need more than a basic understanding of warding." He had indeed invented such a ward, but certainly not for a measly NEWT. Vector, for her part, appeared impressed.

"Quite impressive, Nic," she complimented. "If you have some free time in the coming weeks, I would love to take a look at it." Harry nodded with a smile, glad to have the opportunity. Hermione had always been very complimentary of Vector's Arithmantic abilities.

For the next few hours, Harry spoke at length with many of the professors, receiving advice and invitations for help from practically all of them. The only exception to this was Snape, who merely shook his hand briefly before returning to a quiet conversation with Lily. Harry was just getting tired when some of the staff began trailing off, heading to their own rooms. He sighed in relief, joining the stream of people leaving the hall.

When he arrived back at the statue leading to his rooms, Harry stepped in briefly before returning with his carving kit. With a yawn, he set about carving his newly devised ward scheme. The majority of his carving was centered on the statue guarding his rooms, but he placed several runes on the doorway, entrance hallway, and around each of the windows in his rooms.

The wards were, for the most part, focused on preventing entry to unauthorized people. There were also aspects that detected the intentions of those attempting entry, which would determine the level of retribution leveled against that person. Those trying to enter out of curiosity or innocent mischief would be pushed back with a mild shock, while those with malicious intent would be petrified and knocked unconscious. The use of violent spells would reflect those same spells back with equal vigor if the attacker was an adult.

Finally finishing his carving, Harry gently began the tedious process of powering his wards. His magic flowed into the anchor rune at a steady rate, inducing a gentle blue glow in each of the carvings. It took nearly an hour, but when he finished, Harry was pleased with the results. The blue glow slowly faded to nothing, and the runes vanished as well. As an afterthought, Harry had also decided to imbue the Magimau statue with rudimentary intellect, similar to the gargoyle standing guard in front of Dumbledore's office. Visitors would be able to speak to it, and if Harry was in his apartment he would hear them. In addition, the stone eyes would observe and record everything that happened in the hallway, where the Defense classrooms were visible. Harry would know of every person who entered his domain.

With a tired sigh, Harry finally retired to his rooms where he collapsed on his bed. He was asleep almost instantly.

* * *

Harry awoke late the next morning, having neglected to set an alarm before he fell asleep the night before. A quick _Tempus_ showed him that it was nearly ten, so Harry decided to wait to eat until lunch. With his spare time, he decided that he would inspect his new classrooms. First, he entered the lecture room.

Since Defense was a require class for all students up to sixth year (and was still taken by most after that), the room was still relatively large. It was organized as a traditional classroom, with six rows of desks, four across. The front of the class was bare, with several chalkboards spanning the wall. Harry sighed, knowing he had a lot of work to do. His first move was to stack all of the desks along the front wall, where the chalkboards were. Now with a bare floor, he lifted his hands and began transfiguring.

With a loud grinding sound, the corners of the room nearest the entry began to move inwards, while the other walls pushed out, until he had created a nearly semicircular room. Next, he lowered his hands slowly. The entire floor, save the portion nearest the rounded wall, began to sink down. After several feet, the outer edge stopped sinking, and the pattern continued, until Harry had created something akin to an auditorium centered around the lecture area. He then pulled his hand back towards himself, and several staircases formed around the room. The finishing touch was placing the desks on each level. Harry allowed himself a satisfied grin, now that the room was exactly how he wanted it.

Satisfied, Harry left his lecture room to look at the larger room Dumbledore had set aside for his use, conveniently across the hall from the other classroom. His jaw dropped when he entered. The room was nearly as large as the Great Hall, high vaulted ceiling and all. For now, it was mostly empty, though Harry already had plans to remedy that.

Some quick transfiguration soon had the room sorted. Down the center of the hall was a regulation sized dueling platform, well within sight of the rest of the room. One side was separated into smaller dueling areas, each warded independently to contain stray spells. The other side of the room was partly stadium seating for the dueling platform, and partly study tables. A satisfied smile made its way onto his lips.

"Doing some remodeling, I see?" Lily's voice drifted from the entryway. Harry turned and saw her standing near the door, Snape by her side, sporting his usual scowl.

"Well, I figured I should do something with one of my last few days off," Harry answered, smiling back.

"The headmaster was concerned when you didn't show up to breakfast, so Severus and I volunteered to lead the search party," Lily told him. "I'm quite impressed with your work. Are you going to have Bathsheda do the warding?"

"No need to bother her," Harry responded. "I've just about finished, actually. I just need to activate the security wards on the doors to ensure that nobody can use the dueling room without a teacher present, then I'll be finished."

"So, you're a warder, too?" Snape asked.

"Indeed. I considered a mastery in warding, but I decided my skills were better spent in Defense," Harry answered truthfully.

"Rather impressive," Snape replied. "What would you say to a friendly duel? Just to test the wards, of course."

Harry thought for a moment. It was rather obvious that Dumbledore wanted Snape to test his capabilities, but to refuse would be rather rude, not to mention cowardly. "Perhaps instead, you could assist me during one of my first few classes? I was planning to demonstrate the differences between a duel and a fight."

"I look forward to it," Snape replied, though his tone said the exact opposite.

"Excellent, Mr. Snape. Now, should we get moving to the Hall? I think lunch is about to start," Harry said, moving towards the exit. As he passed the threshold, he quickly powered up the ward scheme he had carved in the doorframe. As the door closed, it flashed a bright blue for a moment before fading back to normal. Lily and Snape both looked rather impressed but said nothing about it.

"Do you have your lesson plans laid out yet, Nic?" Lily asked as they approached the Great Hall.

"Well, I'm planning to go over my predecessors notes this afternoon and tomorrow. Hopefully I won't have to make too many changes, but I think my first few lessons will be evaluating their skills," Harry answered truthfully. "I must say, I'm quite looking forward to my first staff meeting."

"Don't get too excited," Lily whispered conspiratorially. "They're mostly just Albus asking about a few of his favorites. If you really need to speak to another professor about a student, it's better to do it directly." The group walked around the head table and were soon seated for lunch. Harry kept quiet, instead choosing to observe the students again.

He noticed that Ron didn't seem to be particularly close to his female counterpart. Evelyn was seated at the far end of the table conversing with Hermione, while Ron was hanging off every word spoken by Neville. In fact, a rather significant portion of the older males in Gryffindor seemed to be crowded as close to their Boy-Who-Lived as possible. Apparently, Neville was much more comfortable with crowds this time around, as he seemed entirely at ease despite all the people trying to get in a word with him.

He glanced again at the other tables. Draco spent most of his time glaring at Neville, though he would laugh at a joke from one of his housemates every so often. He had his usual gang around him, including Pansy Parkinson, Theodore Nott, and his trained gorillas. A few of the older kids also sat nearby, but most of them ignored the ponce. His eyes moved slowly up the table, looking for familiar faces. His eyes then made contact with a pair of pale blue eyes.

They averted themselves immediately after making contact with Harry's, but it was far too late. That calculating look made him realize that news of the new Defense professor had undoubtedly spread beyond Hogwarts. He had known of Damien Greengrass in his old world. He had been an information broker, working with whoever had the money to pay him. As the Death Eater occupation had gone on, though, he turned into a Death Eater informant. He couldn't place all the blame on the man, after all, many Aurors had essentially done the same thing. His information had been extremely damaging to those resisting Voldemort, however.

Damien had almost certainly instructed his eldest daughter to begin collecting information on him. He hadn't received any indication from Gringotts that anyone else had been looking into his background, but fully expected more inquiries soon. This time around, Harry would make sure the Greengrass information empire was on the right side. Pretending as if he hadn't noticed Daphne Greengrass' eyes on him, Harry turned back to his meal.

* * *

Before Harry knew it, he was on his way to the staff room for his first meeting. He'd spent the last nearly twenty-four hours reading and revising the lesson plans for every Defense class but was more looking forward to seeing how these meetings went. From Lily's words yesterday, it seemed that Dumbledore used it as his monthly Boy-Who-Lived checkup, but he would wait and see for himself.

He pushed the door open, outlines for his classes in arm, and immediately gravitated towards the seat next to Flitwick. The half-goblin excitedly pushed the chair out for him, to which he nodded.

"What's all that?" Flitwick asked curiously.

"Lesson plans," Harry answered. "I figured the headmaster might want to see if I was taking my job seriously."

Flitwick laughed. "That might be true this time, but in the future, you really won't have to bring anything. It's mostly an informal meeting, where we can bring up any problems, and the headmaster can ask about progress in general."

Harry nodded in thanks. The headmaster walked in, shadowed by Snape, and sat in his chair at the head of the table.

"Alright, let's get this started," Dumbledore said. "Minerva, how are your classes progressing?"

"No issues so far, Albus," she began. "Classes are progressing as usual. There are a few students falling behind already, the same as usual, but I've already instructed them to seek out help from their older housemates. First years so far look promising, but it's too early to really say much."

"Thank you, Minerva. Severus?"

The meeting continued in this thread for about forty minutes, each professor in turn giving a short update on their classes. Finally, though, they got to the meat of the meeting.

"And how is young Mr. Longbottom doing so far this year?" he asked the group at large. Harry fixed a confused look on his face, as if he were confused why a single student was being singled out, but he still listened carefully.

"He is, as usual, excelling in Transfiguration," Minerva said with obvious pride. "He may be on track to match his father's ability in the field."

"His Charm work is acceptable, though his written assignments are occasionally lackluster," Flitwick supplied.

"He's not quite as much of a dunderhead as the rest of his cohort," Snape replied grudgingly.

Dumbledore nodded, apparently pleased with the results. "Now, Nic, how have your class preparations been going so far?"

Harry passed a copy of his updated schedule to Dumbledore. "I've made a few revisions, mainly just reviewing material to make sure the notes from previous teachers are accurate. I have an idea for a special lesson, but I think I'll wait to discuss that until my first few lessons are taken care of."

Dumbledore nodded. "It seems like you're putting a lot of thought into this," he said, a pleased look on his face.

"There was one other thing," Harry added. "I've decided to turn my larger classroom into something of a study hall when I'm not holding class." Dumbledore gestured for him to continue. "I've placed wards in localized parts of the room, so it would be an ideal location for students to practice new spells. It'll make it much safer, since any misfires won't hurt others nearby, and if we can set up a direct Floo to the hospital wing it'll be easy to treat any accidental injuries."

Dumbledore looked contemplative. "That does sound like a wonderful idea. However, let's wait a week or two so you can settle into your routine, then if you'd still like to do that you may." Harry nodded, agreeing with the headmaster's plan.

"Is there anything else we need to discuss?" he asked the room at large. Receiving only negative responses, he ended the meeting, and they all began heading to the Great Hall for dinner.

Harry retired to his room early that evening, wanting to get plenty of sleep before his first day of teaching. As he whispered the password to the guardian of his rooms, he felt a foreign ward wash over him. A frown crossed his lips, as he discreetly began twitching his fingers, casting various diagnostic spells. He soon discovered that he was the target of an eavesdropping ward. He cast his magical senses about the area, searching for the source of the ward, as he'd learned years before.

* * *

 _February 12_ _th_ _, 1999_

" _It simply has to be there!" Hermione exclaimed. "It's the only explanation for why he continues to send his Death Eaters to try to break the ward over the ruins."_

" _Okay, but even if you're right," Harry answered, "how do you expect to get through if none of them have succeeded?"_

 _Hermione gave him a sly smirk. "Look at this," she replied, sliding one of the many open books across the kitchen table. Harry flipped it around and began scanning the page. It seemed to be mostly boring history about the founding of Gringotts, but he kept reading, knowing that Hermione normally didn't enjoy wasting time. His eyes widened almost comically as he reached the bottom of the page._

"' _When Cygnus Black, first of his name, assisted Gringott in the construction of the great Wizarding bank, he slipped a gap in the wards past the goblin Wardmasters, to ensure that he and his descendants would always have leverage over the beasts!'" Harry read aloud. "Hermione, this is exactly what we need! Does the book say exactly how to get through?"_

" _This one doesn't, but there's a large collection of journals in the section that I can't get into. Our best bet is for you to try to find Cygnus' journal, hopefully he recorded how to get through," she answered, smiling at his excitement._

" _What are we waiting for?" Harry cried, jumping to his feet._

* * *

 _It had been surprisingly easy to find the journal, and only moderately more difficult to learn the spell needed to unlock the wards to Gringotts. After they determined their course of action, Hermione spent the next several days collecting as much preserved food from nearby Muggle stores as she could. Harry would then pack the rations into an expanded trunk, which was imbued with stasis charms. When Hermione determined that they had food enough for nearly a year, Harry was satisfied._

 _The two each grabbed a vial of Polyjuice, and were soon replaced by a short, nondescript man and an elderly woman, both of whom Hermione had seen at the library a few weeks previous during a bout of research. Harry shrank the trunk, placing it on a silver chain on his neck, and the pair Apparated from Grimmauld's doorstep to the Apparition point in Knockturn Alley. As quickly as he could, Harry guided them through several twists and turns before they arrived behind Borgin and Burkes, a store that had first been operated under Cygnus Black's nephew._

 _A few wand taps on the brick wall opened a portal in the wall with a steep staircase leading down into the inky blackness. Harry led the way down, casting_ Lumos _with his hand after the passage sealed behind them. It took nearly fifteen minutes of constant descending before arriving at the wall described in Cygnus' journal._

 _There was a large stained-glass window, nearly as tall as a full-grown man, blocking their path. It was a perfect circle, decorated mostly in dark reds and pure blacks. At the center was a perfectly white skull with delicate runes tracing its outline. Harry stepped in front of the window and raised his palm, which began emanating a green glow, similar to the color of the Killing Curse. Still glowing, he slowly stepped forwards, and passed through the glass with only a slight ripple. Hermione soon followed his example._

 _The pair dropped their disguises as soon as they were through and quickly took stock of their surroundings. It was just as pitch black as the passage they had just exited, but the walls now had a rocky texture as opposed to the smooth stone of the staircase. Harry cautiously moved forwards, hand lifted and prepared to defend against an attack._

 _None came. One moment they were in a narrow tunnel and the next they were looking out on a convoluted mess of railways. Dotted here and there on the walls of the massive cave they found themselves in were the massive vault doors of Gringotts. Harry grinned to Hermione._

" _We made it."_

* * *

 _The duo spent the first few days searching the various passages for any signs of life, but it looked as if the goblins had entirely abandoned the structure after they collapsed the bank. They even found the corpses of several dragons, who were either killed by the goblins as they left or had died of starvation. After determining they were completely alone, Harry and Hermione set up a small camp near the top of the caves, near the low security vaults._

" _Now, we've got a lot of work ahead of us if we expect to break into Death Eater vaults," Hermione said. "I know you learned a lot from Moody, but Gringotts has state of the art wards on their high security vaults. I figure the best way to get there is to start with the low security ones and work our way down."_

 _Harry nodded. "Best we get started, then."_

 _It took nearly a month to remove the wards on the first vault. For the longest time, Harry had been trying to remove the wards one layer at a time, but eventually he realized that when the layers were weaved together, they had to be deactivated simultaneously. From there, progress was much swifter. The next vault took only a week, then three days, then merely one. Each time they progressed to the next security level, the process started again, but Harry was able to adapt faster and faster as they went on._

 _When he wasn't actively working on the next vault, he was reading one of the many books they had pilfered from Grimmauld Place. He focused primarily on the various runic languages used in warding but didn't neglect Arithmancy either. Whenever Hermione insisted he take a break from reading, he would work on designing his own wards, and discovered a new passion. If they ever managed to win this war, he hoped he would be able to pursue it, but he held no false hopes that he would get out of it alive._

* * *

As his magic pulsed out from his body in waves, he became aware of all of the magic around him. Attracting most of his attention were his own wards, but he soon managed to screen that out, leaving him with a group of runes that someone had managed to place on the ceiling. He easily determined that they were the source of the listening spell, recognizing the ward scheme as a rather basic one from one of the books he had studied when living in the caverns of Gringotts.

A wave of his hand removed the charm that had been placed on him, so he turned to the runes, determining the best way to remove the ward. He smiled as he saw a simple exploit. He extended his palm towards the runes and quickly flooded the anchor rune with a veritable flood of magic. Briefly, the runes glowed a deep green before sparking violently as the ward collapsed. Now that they were free of magic, he transfigured the stone to erase any trace of the foreign runes, then began etching his own into the wall. It took only a few minutes, but the stone in the entire hallway was now practically impervious to any damage, including rune carving. Rolling his eyes at what he assumed to be Dumbledore's rather obvious attempt to spy on him, Harry moved into his rooms, sealing the door securely behind him.

He moved to the book on his desk that he had linked to his security wards in the hallway. Flipping to the last page, he activated the spell that showed him what the Magimau's eyes saw and rewound it, eventually resuming it when he saw movement.

A girl was slowly making her way down the hall, obviously attempting to appear nonchalant but failing rather spectacularly. Checking the time, he realized that it was soon after he had left to attend the staff meeting. The girl got closer, continuing to glance over her shoulder, apparently afraid of being spotted. Harry could now recognize her as Daphne Greengrass. He scowled lightly, frustrated that Damien appeared to be taking such a vested interest in him. When she reached the end of the hallway, she pulled a tiny stool from her pocket, which she then enlarged before stepping on top of it.

She then drew a student's rune carving kit from her pocket and proceeded to carve the surveillance ward scheme in the ceiling before powering it. Harry had to admit, he was rather impressed with her ability for a fourth year, but if these distractions continued he would have to do something about it. Sighing and deciding to deal with this issue another day, Harry completed his evening routine and went to bed.

The next morning, he was awakened abruptly by Saphira's insistent hissing right next to his ear. He shot up, worried that he was late for his first day of classes, but relaxed when he saw that the sun wasn't even up yet.

" _What is it, Saphira?_ " he asked, dropping back to his mattress with a groan.

" _I'm bored._ "

" _You woke me up this early because you're bored?_ " Harry asked, slightly annoyed now.

" _I don't know why you're surprised. You brought me here, and then you just kept me locked up for the last two days. It's not my fault,_ " Saphira stated as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. " _Can I at least leave today? I'll follow all of your rules and I'll even stay with you today. Just don't leave me here on my own again._ "

" _Fine, fine, you can come with me. Now will you let me get some more sleep?_ " As soon as he finished talking, the alarm clock on his bedside table began ringing incessantly. "Guess not," he muttered, rolling off the bed and moving to the bathroom.

Thirty minutes later, Harry was walking out of his rooms, Saphira wrapped securely around his wrist in her natural form. He was a little nervous about having her out with him, but he presumed it would be fine since he was a professor. The Gryffindors would likely be nervous at first, but he was sure he would be able to win them over eventually. After all, he was one himself.

At breakfast, he only ate a little. He was growing more and more nervous as his classes approached, and even the supportive words of Lily and Flitwick did nothing to calm him down. All too soon, breakfast neared its end, so Harry left the head table and headed to his lecture room. His first class would be with the seventh years, so a good impression was necessary if he didn't want his failures spread across the school before lunch.

He withdrew his wand, knowing he had to get back into the habit, and conjured a tree in the corner of the room near the chalkboards. Saphira briefly took the form of a Quetzalcoatl, flying over to the tree, before changing again to look like Salazar. She then draped herself across several branches, head lazily swaying back and forth as she looked out over the classroom.

With a bang, students began piling into the classroom. Since it was a NEWT class, all four houses had the class simultaneously. The Slytherins mostly filled the back rows, while Ravenclaws immediately gravitated towards the front row. Hufflepuff and Gryffindor settled in the middle. Many of the students glanced warily at Saphira, but Harry paid them no mind. He leaned quietly against his desk until the clock showed that class had started. With a wave of his wand, Harry closed the door.

"Good morning, everyone. As I'm sure you've heard, my name is Nicolaus Blackwood, and I'm obviously your new Defense teacher," Harry began. "Now, I know that tests aren't exactly the most exciting thing to do, but I feel that I must evaluate your skill level before we really get started. The written portion is pretty short, it should only take about fifteen minutes. Then, we'll move across the hall and get some practice in."

The class groaned when he announced the test, but they perked up when he told them they would be doing practical work soon after. A vague wave of his wand distributed the short quizzes that were on his desk to each student, and the sound of scratching quills soon filled the air. Harry paced up and down the aisles a few times, then returned to the front of the room and stroked Saphira's head gently. A glance at his watch showed that the fifteen minutes were nearly up, so he gestured for her to return to his wrist.

"Alright, quills down please," Harry called, summoning the quizzes back to his desk. "Please leave everything except your wands here and follow me." Striding up towards the exit, he crossed the hall and entered the dueling room after removing the wards on the door. The nearest students passed glances to each other when they saw this but said nothing.

Harry waited patiently for the class to file in. "Alright, everyone please line up along the wall there," he directed. "Alright, I'm going to pair you all off, then each pair will go to one of these dueling pits on the side where I'll be able to watch. I want only non-damaging spells today. Anyone casting anything more dangerous than a _Stupefy_ will receive an immediate detention. Today is about proper fighting technique, not taking your opponent out violently. If your opponent is incapacitated, you will flag me down, so I can mix up the pairings." The students looked at him with rather blank faces, apparently not expecting such an active first class. "Okay, let's get started."

He randomly assigned the partners and let them get started. While there was some grumbling when Gryffindors were paired with Slytherins, but the class was off to a rather smooth start. Harry paced back and forth on the main dueling platform, carefully observing and making note of which students were leading the group and which were trailing behind. Whenever a student managed to knock out or disarm their opponent, he would switch them with another pair. Soon, however, the bell rang, signaling the end of the first period.

"Alright, everyone, good work. On Wednesday we'll begin with my curriculum, but no homework for today," he yelled out as the students filed out the door. While it wasn't the most exciting start for a new professor, he knew from experience it wasn't the worst either.

* * *

 **Author's Note: Classes are finally starting! Thanks to everyone who reviews, favorites, and follows. Hope you enjoy!**

 **Edit, 1/28/19: Noticed a slight continuity error in the memory sequence, has been fixed.**

 **Edit, 11/8/19: Changed Harry's name.**


	7. Meet the Fourth-Years

The fifth- and sixth-year classes went just as the seventh had, with a short quiz at the beginning, followed by some mock duels between the students. Between the classes, he had started grading, and was disappointed overall with their knowledge level. There were several stand-out students in each class who knew nearly every spell or creature being described, but the clear majority were far behind where he had hoped. He wasn't too surprised, knowing that he probably would also fail this quiz had he taken in while still in Hogwarts, but knew he had a lot of work to do if he wanted to get them up to scratch.

He was seated at his desk, grading the last few sixth-year quizzes, when the second group of fourth year students entered. For whatever reason, Dumbledore insisted that Defense classes were always taught with Gryffindor and Slytherin together. Given the obvious animosity between the houses, Harry had always questioned this decision, but couldn't do anything about it as a new teacher.

The first two students to enter were Tracey Davis and Daphne Greengrass. Harry nearly rolled his eyes at this, knowing that Daphne's father had almost certainly instructed her to learn more about him, but said nothing, instead turning his eyes back to his work. The two girls dropped their bags in a pair of first row seats and sat down, talking quietly to each other.

Soon after, another pair of girls entered his classroom. A glance identified them as Evelyn Potter and Hermione, but Harry continued to grade as if he hadn't noticed their entrance. They, too, sat in the front row, just across the center aisle from the two Slytherins. He saw Evelyn subtly point out Saphira to Hermione, who looked fascinated, but they remained quiet.

"Professor," a clear voice called out, "what kind of snake is that?"

Harry looked up to Daphne as she spoke, weighing her words in his mind and trying to decide on an answer. The obvious lie would be to simply claim she was a normal python, but that would restrict Saphira to a single form when in public. On the other hand, spilling her identity as a chameleon viper could give unnecessary information directly to her father. He mulled over this for a few seconds, then made a decision.

"She's a chameleon viper, Ms.…?" he replied.

"Greengrass, sir. Daphne Greengrass," the blonde replied. "I've never heard of a chameleon viper before. Can they disguise themselves?"

In reply, Harry simply lifted an arm towards Saphira. Glossy black feathers shot from beneath her scales, and she sinuously glided through the air before gently wrapping around his forearm. The feathers soon vanished, leaving her in the form of Salazar once more. The two Slytherins stared for a moment, speechless.

"That's… incredible," Tracey eventually choked out. "Can she turn into other snakes as well?"

"She can take the form of any snake she has seen in person, Ms.…" Harry replied, ensuring that he was introduced to them before using their names.

Tracey blushed slightly under his gaze. "Tracey Davis, sir."

"It's a pleasure to meet you both," Harry responded. He was saved from future discussion by the door of the classroom opening again, revealing most of the Gryffindor fourth-years. Near the front of the pack was Neville, surrounded by the other Gryffindor boys. They proceeded into the back row of desks, talking loudly as they did so. Lavender and Parvati sat nearby, giggling over their newest piece of gossip. However, this soon came to an end as Lavender shrieked, hand pointing towards Harry.

"SNAKE!" she screamed, looking as if she might burst into tears. This immediately drew the gaze of the rest of the Gryffindors. Each of their expressions turned to either fear or repulsion, though most of them at least tried to hide it. Harry decided that, at least with this class, he would have to head off their objections early.

"Alright, everyone, quiet please," Harry called out. The Gryffindors looked disgruntled, but eventually fell silent. "This is my familiar, Saphira," he eventually continued. "She'll likely be here for most of our classes. If you'd like to see her up close, just ask, I promise she won't hurt anyone. If she feels threatened, though, she _will_ defend herself." The students clad in red and gold still looked wary, but most of them seemed to accept his words. He could tell that a few were still perturbed by the idea but decided to ignore them. Instead, he continued his grading.

Malfoy and his bodyguards soon arrived, trailed by Pansy Parkinson and the rest of the Slytherin cohort. A few snide remarks and glares were sent towards the Gryffindors, and Harry noted that they weren't all reserved for the Boy-Who-Lived. Pansy and Theodore Nott both muttered what could only be insults to Hermione and Evelyn, before they sat down on the opposite side of the classroom from the Gryffindors. A moment later the bell rang, and Harry set aside his grading.

"Hello, everyone. I'm Nicolaus Blackwood, your new Defense professor," Harry spoke. "Before we really get to learning anything, you're going to take a short quiz, so I can gauge how much you know. After that, we'll head to the other room and get a little bit of dueling practice." At this, Harry gestured with his wand, distributing the tests to the students. Saphira hissed contentedly from her position, still wrapped around his forearm. Harry smiled and stroked her head absentmindedly while he observed the class. He could tell that many of them were struggling with the material but held out hope that their practical evaluation would go better.

Soon, the fifteen minutes were up, and he summoned the exams back to his desk. "Follow me," he commanded, and exited the classroom. The class sluggishly responded, but they eventually made their way to the new dueling room. As he had with the other classes, he paired most students up with someone from another class, to their consternation. He knew from experience that tensions ran high in this class, but he hoped that having a new teacher would be enough to keep tempers from flaring too high. To be cautious, though, he tried to keep the most likely aggressors away from each other.

The first few duels went fine, though most of the pairings were from the same house. The students were keeping to his instructions of safe spells, and despite a few insults here and there, it seemed as if they would manage to get through the class without any incidents. Right as that thought passed through his head, though, there was a crash from the far pit. Internally cursing his horrible luck, Harry spun and sprinted towards the source of the noise.

He quickly ducked as a mild cutting curse flew through the air towards him. A hit wouldn't have killed him, but definitely would've hurt quite a bit. Angry at the students for disregarding the safety of those around them, he flicked his wand into his palm and released a visible wave of magic. Every student in the room was immediately frozen in place as his petrification charm washed over them. Harry stalked over towards the students who had been fighting, his face blank of any emotion.

"Tell me, please, what _exactly_ you thought you were doing," he asked, his voice deceptively calm. A flick of his wrist fully freed the students who hadn't been involved, but only the heads of those who had been fighting. All five were Gryffindors, surprisingly enough. Neville, Ron, and Seamus were on one side, facing off against Evelyn and Hermione.

Seamus gathered his courage first. "Me and Evelyn were dueling, and then Hermione just—"

"Let me rephrase that," Harry interrupted, voice still quiet and level. "All five of you have detention. Meet me here at seven o'clock on Saturday evening." He could tell from Hermione's expression that she wanted to argue with him but changed her mind when she got another look at his expression.

"Class is dismissed!" Harry called out to the rest of the class. As they filed out, he finally released the group in front of him. "Just so you know, I'll be much less lenient in the future. Now get out of here," he threatened lightly. The five grabbed their bags and left quietly.

Harry sighed as he watched them go. He'd decided to leave the wards around the pits down for today, since they weren't using any powerful spells, but clearly that had been a mistake. The stray spells could have easily struck any of the other students, which would have been a disaster for his first day teaching. He shook his head to clear his thoughts, then left the room, locking it as he did so. He ran into Lily on his way to the Great Hall for dinner.

"Hey, Nic," she greeted, "how did your first day go?"

"Could have been a lot worse," Harry answered with a smile. "Though your eldest managed to get a detention already…"

Lily looked shocked. "Eve? What'd she do?"

"I told you about the mock duels I was having the upper years do in their first class?" Harry asked. Seeing Lily nod, he continued, "Well, she and a few of her housemates got in a real fight. It wouldn't have been a huge issue, but there were a few cutting curses flying around." Lily gasped almost theatrically at this.

"You mean to tell me Eve was casting cutting curses?" Lily exclaimed, seemingly upset with her daughter now.

"To be honest, I can't be sure who cast which spell," Harry responded. "As soon as I saw that spell, I just froze the lot of them."

"I don't blame you," Lily said. "I'll talk to her about it tonight, and make sure she doesn't blame you too much."

"Thanks," Harry smiled back as they entered the hall. Glancing at the Gryffindor table, he could see Neville's friends glaring lightly at him as he walked towards the head table. Hermione and Evelyn glanced towards him as well, but if they were angry, they managed to hide it well. Harry shrugged off the looks and continued to the head table, taking his usual spot next to Flitwick. Saphira took the opportunity to leave his arm and coil up next to his plate.

"My goodness, what's this?" Flitwick asked, warily inspecting the snake. She was still in the form of Salazar, and even coiled was nearly the size of one of the larger platters on the table.

"This is my familiar, Saphira," Harry said. Saphira lifted her head and flicked her tongue towards the small professor.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Saphira," Flitwick said with a smile. He gently lifted his hand towards her, and she bumped her nose into it.

" _I like this one,_ " she hissed to Harry, who nearly laughed at her response.

"What kind of snake is she?" Flitwick continued.

"She's a chameleon viper," Harry answered, beginning to serve food onto his plate. Saphira snagged a small piece of meat, swallowing it whole.

" _I don't know how you humans stomach burnt meat,_ " she said, nearly gagging.

"A chameleon viper?" Flitwick mused. "You should talk to Hagrid about her, I'll bet he'd love to meet her." Harry nodded. "Anyways, how were your classes today?"

"They went pretty smooth, actually," Harry responded. "Little bit of a mishap in my last one, but not bad at all."

"In a few days, if you'd like, I can let you know what my Ravens say about your classes?" the small man offered.

"That would be great, actually," Harry responded. Flitwick smiled back, and they turned back to their meals.

* * *

Evelyn Potter whispered the passphrase to the portrait to her parents' quarters, and the inanimate portrait slid to the side. With a small sigh, she stepped over the threshold and flopped down on the couch in the sitting room.

"Eve? Is that you?" her mother's voice drifted from the office.

"Yeah, mom," she yelled back, closing her eyes. She had been dreading this conversation ever since Professor Blackwood had given them detentions earlier that day. Her mother's discussions whenever she got in trouble were always worse than the actual punishments. She sat in the silence, waiting for her to finish with her grading or whatever she was working on tonight. A few minutes later, she heard footsteps walking towards her. She opened her eyes.

"How was school today, sweetie?" her mom asked. Evelyn knew the look on her mom's face and could tell this was just a ruse.

"Great, mom," she answered, with perhaps a little too much sarcasm in her voice. Lily grinned slightly, hearing her daughter's frustration.

"Want to tell me about Defense today?" she asked, deciding cut to the chase.

"Well, the quiz he gave us at the beginning was actually pretty hard," Eve began, putting off the inevitable. "Even Hermione had some trouble with it." Lily's eyebrows lifted at this. Eve was smart, but Hermione could ace almost any test put in front of her. "I think I did okay, though. I saw a few people who could barely finish a single question."

"Is he really asking about material that advanced?" Lily asked, curious now.

"A little of it was stuff that I don't remember ever covering before, but most of it was just some pretty tough recall from old classes," Eve answered. "The weird thing was, he asked about Charms and Transfiguration. There was even one question about Potions." Lily looked concerned now.

"He's testing you on material from different classes? Before he's even taught you anything?" she demanded. Eve rushed to clarify before her mother went on the warpath, not wanting to give her newest professor another reason to dislike her this soon.

"Yeah, yeah, but it was all in the context of a Defense class," she said quickly. "Honestly, it was mostly asking about concepts and strategy than blunt memorization." Lily relaxed at this. "Anyways, after the quiz, we went across the hall to the new dueling room. Has it always been there?"

"Not to my knowledge," Lily answered, settling back into her chair. "Sev and I went to check on him the day after he moved in, and it looked like he transfigured most of it himself, not to mention the warding."

"Warding?" Eve asked, confused now.

"He told us that he was setting up some wards when we found him. Maybe he never got a chance to finish," Lily mused.

"Well, anyways, he split us up into pairs for some practice duels. He told us nothing more dangerous than _Stupefy_. It went fine at first, but I think Seamus got upset when me and Hermione both beat him easily," Eve explained. "Hermione was walking over to me to wait until Blackwood got back to assign us new partners, and I saw Seamus pointing his wand at her back." Lily's face was rather dispassionate, a clear sign that she was not happy.

"I cast a _Protego_ , and it barely managed to block his spell. After that, things sorta went downhill, until Blackwood stopped us," Eve finished her story quickly. Her mother was clearly unimpressed with the lack of detail but decided not to press the issue.

"Well, I'm proud of you for defending Hermione," she began, "but next time I'd like it if you could let the professor handle it. I'm sure if you had just held up a shield instead of retaliating, he wouldn't have given you a detention."

"Sorry, mom," Eve replied, slightly abashed. She'd always had trouble controlling her temper, though this was the first trouble she'd been in the entire semester.

"I'm sure your father will be impressed, though," Lily said with a wry grin. "He should be back soon, if you want to wait, but if you've got homework or something you should probably get going."

"Nah, I finished most of it this weekend," she answered. "What do you think of Blackwood?"

"Professor Blackwood, dear," Lily said with a smile. "I mean, after what happened in Hogsmeade, I can't really say anything bad about him. He's quite the impressive duelist, though. He didn't even get scratched when he dueled whoever was impersonating Mad-Eye." Evelyn perked up at this.

"Could you tell me more about their fight, mom?" she asked. "You barely even told me anything, but obviously it was pretty bad. The newspaper said the guy lost a leg!" She knew her mom wasn't going to answer as soon as she finished speaking, but the door opened before she responded.

"Hey Lils, I'm—Eve!" her dad exclaimed as he walked in the door. "What's going on?" he asked as he dropped onto the couch next to her.

"Our daughter got a detention today," Lily answered before Eve could respond. Her dad looked torn between reprimanding her giving her a high-five.

"What'd you do?" he finally asked.

"Just defended Hermione," she answered, but she continued before her mother could cut in. "I got in a fight with Neville and his buddies in Defense."

"Who started it this time?" he asked with a wry smile. The clashes between Eve, Hermione, and the boys of Gryffindor had become staples of her Hogwarts life since her first year.

"Seamus, after he couldn't handle being beat by a girl," Eve grumbled. James just laughed.

"Somehow, I'm not surprised," he said with a smile. "Good for you two, standing up for yourselves." Lily looked as if she was suppressing a smile at this.

"Any news on the investigation, dear?" Lily asked.

"Actually, yes," James answered, his expression becoming serious. "We finally managed to identify the imposter." Lily shot a glance at Eve.

"Maybe we should talk about this later, James," she said. "There's no need to bring Eve into this."

"Actually, Lils, I think she needs to hear this," he answered with a serious expression. Lily was about to interrupt again, but James pushed on. "We finally managed to identify the imposter from one of the villager's memories. It was Barty Crouch, Jr."

Lily's jaw dropped at this revelation. "But… I thought he died in Azkaban? Almost as soon as he got in there?" Her shock had apparently made her forget about her daughter's presence.

"That's what we all thought, too. We raided Crouch manor today, as soon as we identified him, but we were way too late," James continued. "We found his father's body, along with evidence that he might've been working with someone."

"My god," Lily muttered. "I can't believe he managed to get into the school. Imagine what could've happened if he'd decided to attack the students."

"To be honest, it's almost more worrisome that he didn't," James said. "It means he was probably here for something else, and we have no idea what that was."

"Do you think it could be something about the tournament, dad?" Eve asked quietly.

"That's our thought, too," he answered. "Especially since his dad was helping organize it. We suggested to Bagman and Fudge that we should at least postpone it, but they wouldn't hear a word against it." Clearly this was a rather big deal, because James' face was angrier than she had ever seen it before. He heaved a large sigh, then turned to Eve.

"So, other than the obvious," James asked with a tired smile, "how's your new Defense professor?"

Eve was relieved to have changed topics of conversation. "Pretty good, actually. Hopefully they'll be better once he really starts teaching. He really seems to know his stuff."

"That's good," James replied. "It's always a good thing to know how to protect yourself."

"Eve," her mother cut in, "you should probably be heading back to your dorm. You don't want to get caught out by Filch."

Eve sighed. "Yeah, you're probably right." She stood up and hugged both of her parents quickly, then left the room. However, as soon as the portrait slid back into place, she sidled up to it and placed her ear against the canvas. She had learned soon after her mother moved in that there was no silencing charm on it and wasn't about to remind her parents about that.

She heard her mother's voice drift through the portrait. "So, did you learn anything else about the imposter?"

"We did," James deep voice answered. "I didn't want to say this in front of Eve, but it looks like he was here to enter someone in the tournament. We found a few slips of paper in his office with students' names on them, they looked like they were ripped off homework assignments."

Lily gasped. "Was it anyone in particular?"

"Unfortunately, we can't tell for sure, but there were less than five names. Lils… Eve's was one of them," he choked out. For a moment there was silence, but she soon heard the sound of her mother crying. Numbly, Eve stepped away from the portrait and began walking slowly towards Gryffindor Tower.

Why would the imposter want to target her? She knew that he'd played a part in the deaths of her grandparents when she was still a baby, but it didn't make sense to target her again now. The only reason she could think of for this was that her father was involved in his arrest, but there were far easier ways to get revenge than to enter someone in a tournament they might not even be chosen for.

She was back in front of the Fat Lady before she knew it. She muttered the password just loud enough to hear, and ignored her reprimand for nearly being late, thoughts still racing through her head. She briefly considered working on some homework that was due later in the week but decided that she needed to get some sleep. Without even noticing Hermione's questioning gaze from the corner of the common room, she went up the stairs.

* * *

 _February 23_ _rd_ _, 2000_

 _Harry stood in front of the grimy mirror. With a slow gesture, he waved his right hand over his face, concentrating as best he could. His features blurred slightly, altering his cheekbones and jawline, as well as altering his eyes to a pale blue. The pale scar on his forehead faded and shrank, until it was a barely noticeable mark just under his hairline. The messy black locks of hair that had grown nearly over his eyes receded, turning a dark blond as it did so._

 _He smirked as he took in his new appearance. Ever since he and Hermione had secured the locket and left the ruins of Gringotts, they'd been surviving in the seedier parts of the network of alleys branching off of Diagon. Most of the time, they had to squat in the burned-out husks of stores that had either disobeyed Voldemort, or just annoyed his minions, but they got lucky last night and used a tiny bit of Polyjuice each to rent a room above a used bookstore in Knockturn Alley that looked to be on its last legs._

 _Surprisingly enough, after Voldemort's decisive takeover, Knockturn had turned into the place to be if you were trying to stay under the radar of the Dark Lord. The most prestigious businesses in Diagon were allowed to remain open, with increasingly heavy taxes to be paid to the protection racket the Death Eaters had started, but all the smaller shops were quickly taken over by the former denizens of Knockturn Alley. Borgin and Burkes was now one of the most prominent stores, sitting directly across from the entrance through the Leaky Cauldron, and with the exception of stores like Madam Malkin's, the once bright alley was nearly unrecognizable._

 _In sharp contrast, the formerly crime ridden streets of Knockturn Alley were slowly becoming safer, at least for those who weren't being hunted by the Muggle-Born Registration Commission. While the frequent Death Eater patrols were disruptive and occasionally broke out into fights, the former shopkeepers of Diagon Alley were doing their best to transform it into a semblance of their past home._

 _Lacking significant stores of Polyjuice and given the large number of detection wards that Death Eaters had placed throughout the magical community, Harry and Hermione had been searching for long-term disguises, to little avail. They moved only under the cover of night, and Hermione would leave every few days with a bit of Polyjuice to replenish their supplies and collect news. Harry had not been idle, though, and was currently in the final stages of perfecting his new disguise._

 _Glancing out the window, he saw a mousy-haired woman about forty years old picking her way down the street. Recognizing the form Hermione had been using as of late, Harry quickly removed his disguise and went to the door to their rented room. Hermione entered not a moment too late, as her disguise began melting off, revealing her normal, if exhausted, visage. She gave Harry a brief smile as she entered, dropping onto the old couch in the middle of the room._

" _Anything new?" he asked, sitting down next to her._

" _Not really. I got caught up avoiding a Death Eater patrol, that's why it took so long to get back. I was worried the Polyjuice was going to wear out while I was still in public," Hermione explained. "I flipped through a_ Prophet _from yesterday, but there wasn't anything new. Did you make any progress?" she inquired, knowing about Harry's efforts to disguise himself._

" _I think so!" Harry said with clear excitement. With a look of concentration, he donned his disguise once more. "Alright, try to dispel it now," he said. Hermione lifted her wand with a raised eyebrow._

"Finite Incantatem, _" she incanted, flicking her wand straight towards him. Harry felt a wave of magic rush over him, trying to tear his disguise from him. Focusing, Harry managed to push the magic away from himself. He glanced in the mirror again and saw that his disguise was still intact. He turned to Hermione, a grin on his lips._

" _It worked!" he said with excitement._

" _It did," she said with a smile. "I think you need to work on throwing that off faster and easier, but with some practice I'll bet you could walk right through an anti-concealment ward and nobody would be the wiser."_

 _Harry was just about to reply when there was a loud crash from the store beneath them. Harry rushed to the window, Hermione on his heels, and his heart sank as he saw a trio of men in Death Eater regalia standing in front of the shop, wands out._

" _Alright, old man, come on out!" the man in front called out. "We've got information that you're housing an individual wanted by the Muggle-born Commission. If you come out on your own, you have my word we won't harm you."_

" _Shit!" Hermione swore, watching the scene unfold alongside him. "I thought I got away from them, but they must've spotted me when I turned down a side street."_

" _We need to get down there," Harry said. "Grab a dose of Polyjuice. They probably just thought you were suspicious, but I doubt they know who you really are." Hermione rushed to do so, then began levitating all their meager belongings into one of the trunks Harry had removed from his necklace. After a quick shrinking charm, she tossed the trunk to Harry, who attached it to his necklace. "Let's go."_

 _The two fugitives quietly descended the staircase and came out in the back room of the shop, where the storeowner was cowering in a corner. Harry turned to Hermione. "Get him out of here, go through the wall if you need to. I'll hold them off. If we're lucky, they didn't bother telling anyone where they were." Hermione nodded, knowing by now that she had no chance of dissuading Harry in this kind of situation. Harry slowly pushed the door open and stuck his hands out in front of himself._

" _I'm unarmed," Harry called, slowly inching his way into the store proper._

" _Who're you?" the lead man called out, obviously not expecting another man in the store._

" _This is my dad's shop," Harry replied, hoping that the Death Eaters didn't know the name of the man who owned the store. "I'm just working here."_

" _What's your name, boy?" the man demanded._

 _Harry glanced quickly at a nearby bookshelf for inspiration. "Blackwood. Err, Nicolaus Blackwood," Harry stuttered out, making up the first name on the spot._

" _Well, boy, I think it's about time you learned your place in this world," the man said, a cruel smile sliding across his face. "Let him have it!"_

 _The pair of Death Eaters flanking him immediately cast cutting curses towards him. With a wave of his hand, a clear blue shield popped up in front of him, deflecting the curses into the ceiling where they gouged out a significant amount of wood. Harry frowned. Clearly, they weren't here just to talk like they had claimed._

 _Upon seeing his shield, the Death Eaters quickly moved to the sides of the front door. "He's got someone with him!" one shouted. "He didn't have his wand out, look out for another one!"_

 _Harry peeked around the counter and lobbed a blasting hex right at the door. With a loud bang, the door flew of its hinges, along with a significant portion of the door frame. One Death Eater was clipped with the debris, tumbling into the street, while the other one returned fire, literally._

"Incendio! _" A gout of flames burst from the man's wand, consuming several shelves in their path, while Harry carefully transfigured several of the books nearest him into metal spikes. He threw several to each side of the store, then conjured a few snakes._

"Find the men in black robes, and kill them, _" Harry hissed quickly. The snakes hissed in the affirmative, then slithered towards the front of the store._

 _The Death Eaters had not been idle while Harry was getting ready. The man who was thrown into the street was back on his feet, wand in hand, while the other was covering the storefront. Harry couldn't see their leader. Deciding to take the initiative, Harry launched a barrage of piercing, cutting, and blasting hexes towards them. He saw three shields jump up, revealing the location of the leader, who had been trying to sneak around the far side of the store to flank Harry._

 _A quick lift of his hand raised a pillar of stone from the floor where it solidly struck the leader in the chest, throwing him into the wall behind him as he let out a cry of pain. Turning away from the temporarily incapacitated man, Harry hastily raised a shield to block the curse flying towards him, but it sailed through without pause. Belatedly, he recognized it as the Cruciatus. It grazed his right arm as he fell to the side in a last-ditch effort to avoid it, but a glancing blow was still a hit._

 _Pain seared through his body as he fell behind the counter again. Fortunately, with the obstacle in the way, the Death Eater couldn't keep the line-of-sight necessary to maintain the curse. Harry laid still for a moment, shuddering as the Cruciatus ran its course. He knew he would be feeling the aftereffects for days, but with a monumental effort, he pushed himself up. He extended his magical senses just as Moody had taught him so long ago, and vaguely sensed the three men slowly creeping towards his location. Even though he knew he shouldn't have been caught off-guard by that spell, the Death Eaters had unknowingly moved right into his trap._

"Accio, _" he whispered, focusing solely on the metal spikes he had tossed earlier. Several whistling sounds followed, and he heard two cries of pain accompanied by some fleshy thuds._

" _What the hell was that?" the leaders voice demanded. "Get up!" Harry could hear the panic in his voice, now._

 _With a surge of motion, Harry threw himself out from behind the counter, throwing a few cutting curses as he did so. Without waiting to see the effect, Harry scrambled behind more debris, reinforcing it with a few well-placed spells. The barrier shuddered under some light spellfire but held for the moment._

" _You bastard!" one of the henchmen called out. "You killed Morgan! You won't make it out of here alive, you little dirtbag!" A few more spells sailed over his head, raining splinters on his head. Another scream rang out, interrupting the rain of spells. Harry smirked, knowing that one of his friends had managed to land a bite on the man. He'd only summoned extremely venomous snakes, so he would likely be occupied for the time being. That left only the leader, now._

" _I hope you realize you just signed your death warrant, kid," the man growled as Harry crept along behind the remaining bookshelves. "There's not a chance in hell you're getting out of this alive." Harry smirked, realizing the man was still looking at his last position, and Harry was nearly right behind him now. The sound of footsteps revealed his precise location, so Harry stood, conjuring a disk of ice as he did so. He saw the man turn towards him, a green glow on the tip of his wand, just as he launched the ice towards the man's head. As if in slow motion, he watched as the—_

* * *

Harry shot up in his bed, heart racing. He gasped for air and reached clumsily for the glass of water on his bedside table. He gulped it down as fast as he could without choking, then replaced it. He sat motionless for several minutes, waiting for his heart to calm down. He glanced at the clock on next to him and groaned, seeing that it was nearly time for him to head down to the Great Hall for breakfast.

* * *

 **Author's Note: Another chapter down! I thought for a while about whether to include Eve's POV in this story. I decided to try it here, but let me know if you'd rather we just stayed in Harry's perspective. I hope you enjoy, and thank you to everyone who reviews, follows, and favorites!**

 **Edit, 1/29/19: Fixed some typos.**

 **Edit, 2/4/19: All five students now have detention with Harry.**

 **Edit, 4/10/19: Grammar fixes.**

 **Edit, 11/8/19: Changed Harry's name.**


	8. A Promise

Harry sluggishly moved through his morning routine, still feeling the aftereffects of his vivid dream from the night before. It took until he began pulling on his robes before he realized that he was still in his natural form, with the hem of his robes dragging on the ground. He groaned before resuming his new identity, paused a moment to allow Saphira to land on his shoulder, then strode quickly toward the Great Hall. There was only a small trickle of students still entering, indicating that breakfast was already well underway.

He walked quickly to the head table, taking his customary seat between Flitwick and Lily, and began piling food onto his plate as Saphira slid onto the table as she had the day before. Lily glanced towards him as he began to eat.

"Are you alright?" she asked. "You look really exhausted today. Classes getting to you already?"

Harry smiled tiredly. "Just didn't sleep well last night," he responded, trying to avoid the question. "How's your husband's investigation going so far?"

Lily clearly noticed the obvious attempt at deflection, but let it pass. "I'm not sure what information I'm allowed to tell you, but they're certainly making progress," she answered. "I'll talk to James tonight and see if there's anything I can pass on to you."

"Thanks, I'd appreciate that," Harry smiled back. He took a few more bites of toast and eggs, then pushed his chair back, allowing Saphira to take her usual spot on his arm. "I'd better get going, I need to set a few things up for my next class."

"Good luck! You've got my youngest this afternoon, I think," Lily said, standing up along with him. "I've been told by a few of our colleagues that they can be a handful."

"I'll be sure to keep an eye out for them," Harry laughed as they exited the hall before the rush of students. Lily flashed him a smile as he turned down the new Defense corridor, which he answered with a wave.

* * *

Harry sighed as the second group of third-years left his classroom. He had a different plan for the lower years, since they had neither the knowledge nor the experience to participate in safe duels. Instead, he'd given them a quiz like the older students, then begun teaching them _Protego_ , the simplest and easiest shield to cast. After explaining the motivation behind the spell, he'd demonstrated the spell several times, with exaggerated wand motions and pronunciation. He'd followed this with asking for a few volunteers to attempt to cast the spell. It took some encouragement to convince anyone to try and cast a new spell in front of their classmates, but he'd managed to persuade them with the promise of a smaller homework assignment. None of the students had been able to cast the spell on their first try, but after a little instruction, each of the volunteers had managed it. He promised the class that the next time, everyone would get a chance at it.

If he was being honest with himself, he wasn't sure exactly what to do with the first- and second-years. His own instruction had been pathetically lacking until Remus took the post, and he'd be damned if he allowed it to continue, but he would have to make the material on his own. He intended to begin with _Protego_ in these classes as well, since it was the most fundamental defensive spell, but beyond that he was at a loss. Magical creatures wouldn't be covered until third year, and he didn't exactly trust eleven- and twelve-year-olds with anything more dangerous than a _Petrificus Totalus_.

He was interrupted from his musings by a small group of students entering the room. Glancing up, he watched as the second-year Gryffindors and Slytherins began filing into the room, each house choosing one side of the room. Harry internally rolled his eyes, annoyed that the class rivalry was already so strong after just a year. When the last student slid into his desk, Harry stood and gave his normal welcome speech, before passing out the quizzes.

"Alright, quills down," he called out, summoning all of the quizzes back to his desk. Several of the students tried to hold on to the parchment while they scribbled a few more lines, but Harry firmly pulled them away, much to their disappointment. "Now, who here knows the incantation for a basic shield?" A Slytherin girl in the front row confidently raised her hand, so Harry nodded to her.

"It's _Protego_ , sir," she answered, a small smile on her lips.

"That's correct," Harry responded. He drew his wand. "Please watch my wand motions carefully," he told the class. He raised his wand in front of him, pointing directly away from himself, then firmly rotated it while saying, " _Protego_." An iridescent blue shield emanated from his wand, a barrier between the class and himself. "Now, I'd like you to take note that I didn't need to shout the spell for it to take effect. The volume of your voice has no bearing on the strength of a spell. In case you missed it, the wand motion is simply a quick rotation of your wand."

The class looked rather impressed at this simple spell, so Harry decided to move on to see if the students could recreate his efforts. "So, anybody want to give it a shot?" The students' faces immediately dropped, some of them looking genuinely afraid of embarrassing themselves. "I didn't learn this spell until my fourth year, so you're not expected to get it on the first try." He still received no response, so he used his trump card. "Anyone who volunteers will be exempt from half of the homework I'm assigning on Thursday," he said with a sigh.

As expected, this pulled a response from the class. Surprisingly, to him at least, most of the volunteers were Slytherins, including the girl who'd answered his question. He gestured to her. "Alright, you're up first, Ms.…?"

"Greengrass, sir. Astoria Greengrass," she replied. Harry just managed to hide his surprise at her response. He knew that there were two Greengrass daughters, but he'd never had any contact with the younger one. He could see a similarity in their facial structure, especially the cheekbones, but the different hair colors had disguised that.

"Alright, Ms. Greengrass, please stand over here," he pointed. Dutifully, she moved to where he had indicating, and raised her wand firmly before herself. "Please, show me the wand motion," he directed, and she did so nearly perfectly. "Alright, go ahead and cast."

" _Protego!_ " she called out. Her twist was perhaps a bit too aggressive, and the incantation a bit too loud, but it was enough. After a moment of nothing happening, a translucent blue shield sputtered to life in front of the girl. After a few moments it lost its cohesion and collapsed, but Harry was truly impressed that she'd managed even that on her first attempt.

"Excellent!" he praised, embarrassing the girl a little. "That was very impressive for a first try. Care for another shot?" Astoria nodded, more confidently this time. "This time twist your wand a little more calmly, and remember, you don't need to shout to get the effect you're looking for."

" _Protego!_ " she called again. This time her wand motion was much more precise, and her incantation less intense. Once again, the pale shield shimmered into existence. However, before he could manage to point out her rather remarkable success to the class, he sensed a strange shift in the girl's magic. He _felt_ the pathway of magic between her arm and her wand suddenly shrink, resulting in the rapid collapse of her shield. Astoria looked disappointed when this happened, but not surprised. Harry decided to move on with the class, so he gestured her back to her seat, calling on another of the students volunteering, though he made a mental note to speak to her after class.

Over the course of the next forty minutes, seven more students managed to cast _Protego_ , much to his surprise, though he had to admit, he couldn't understand why it hadn't been taught to him until his fourth year if second-years could cast it so easily. As the students stood to leave, he walked toward the front row of desks. "Ms. Greengrass," he started with a low voice, "would you mind staying after for a moment?"

She nodded silently and gestured to her friends to continue without her. Lunch was about to start, so he knew she wouldn't miss her next class. He walked over to his desk and conjured a chair across from himself, where she sat down. He pondered how to start the conversation for a moment. From her reaction, it was apparent that she knew what had happened, but if he could determine what the issue was, it was possible he could help.

"What is it you wanted, Professor?" Astoria asked, clearly nervous.

"I wanted to know what happened the second time you cast _Protego_ today," he responded. "It looked like you had practically no trouble casting the spell, but it seemed like something went wrong after that."

A sad smile slid onto her face. "I know, Professor," she said quietly. "I hope that it won't affect my grades, but there's nothing I can do about it."

Harry was puzzled. "What do you mean?"

"You won't tell any other students about this, will you?" she asked uncertainly.

"I won't. You have my word," he replied seriously.

"Thank you," she said, then took a deep breath. "My great-great-grandfather was inflicted by a bloodline curse that shows up every generation or two. My father never told me all of the details, but I know that it makes my magic harder to use as I get older," she explained.

Harry sat back in his chair.

* * *

 _August 27_ _th_ _, 1999_

 _Harry stood, nearly perfectly still, before the massive vault door. His hands were extended slightly to either side, fingers twitching as if he were playing an invisible keyboard, while his eyes flickered back and forth beneath his eyelids. Every few seconds, there was a slight flash of light over the doors, revealing runes etched into the metal surface. Finally, after nearly an hour, there was a sound like shattering glass, and the runes on the door flared one more time before fading to nothing. Harry opened his eyes as a smile slid across his lips, and he reached forwards as if grasping an invisible rope. He yanked backwards, and the metal doors were torn from their hinges, landing with a crash on the marble floor._

 _Hermione strode rapidly around the corner at the sound of the crash. "Another one, Harry?" she asked, walking up to his side. "That's what, seven in the last two days?"_

" _Eight, actually. I finished the one around the corner last night after you went to bed," he answered with a grin. "Want to see what's inside?" he asked, already moving into the vault. Hermione quickly caught up, looking forward to seeing the new riches. She had been rather reticent to break into the vaults initially, but after Harry repeatedly assured her that they would not take anything from vaults that weren't owned by confirmed Death Eaters, she relented._

 _This one was owned by the Notts, a relatively influential family that were staunch supporters of Voldemort's reign. As such, the pair of fugitives felt no remorse as they picked through the contents of the vault. Harry naturally gravitated towards the large display of ancient weaponry, while Hermione made a beeline for the small bookshelf in the opposite corner. She spent a little time perusing the covers, but quickly began levitating them into a trunk she pulled from her neck. Across the room, Harry was doing the same with some precious gems he'd found tucked behind a pile of Galleons._

" _Find anything good, Hermione?" he asked as he finished. "A few gems here, but I don't think any of these weapons are enchanted or cursed."_

" _Quite a few books. I recognized a few, but most of them look really old," Hermione answered. "I'll sort through them later once we get back to camp." Harry nodded, shrinking his trunk and attaching it to his necklace. Hermione did the same and followed him out. "I think you should take a break from ward-breaking, Harry, you've barely had a break in the last week."_

" _Oh, come on, Hermione, it's not that bad," he whined. "I'm getting really good at it. I think I could probably get started on the next level in another week."_

" _No, Harry. Not today. If you really can't stand sitting around, why don't you practice some warding?" Hermione suggested. "There's still quite a few from the last few days you haven't put back yet."_

 _Harry groaned. When he'd managed to convince Hermione to 'liberate' funds from the Death Eaters, she'd insisted that they do their best to replace the wards on vaults owned by families with no Death Eater ties. The vaults on the upper levels hadn't been overly difficult to ward once he'd gotten the hang of it, but it got more and more difficult as he went._

" _Harry, you promised," Hermione warned. "We can't just leave those vaults open, in case the Death Eaters eventually manage to get in."_

" _Fine, fine," Harry finally acquiesced. "Were there any books on warding in the Nott's vault?" Anticipating this question, Hermione tossed a thick tome towards his head before he finished speaking, which he only managed to catch due to his quick reflexes. "Thanks," he responded sarcastically, then headed for the stairs to the next level. Hermione walked down a nearby corridor, heading to where they currently had their camp set up._

 _When he got to the first vault without wards, Harry took a moment to peruse the book Hermione had given him. The author was one Aldous Nott, and since the book was neither dated nor marked by a publisher, he assumed that it was the only one of its kind. It was entitled_ Runic Warding, Dueling, and Healing _. Harry was intrigued; back at Hogwarts, Hermione would go on and on about the uses of runes for warding and enchanting, but never for any other purpose. Deciding to skim a few chapters to see if this Nott knew anything about runes, Harry sat against the wall and began reading the introduction._

* * *

" _Harry!" Hermione's voice drifted through the corridor. "Haaaaarryyyy!"_

" _I'm here!" Harry called back. He snapped the book closed and walked into the main corridor. Hermione turned the corner towards him._

" _Where have you been?" she demanded. "Have you been breaking into more vaults?"_

" _No, Hermione, I haven't," he responded, slightly amused. "I was just reading this book you gave me."_

" _I thought you already knew how to ward these ones?" she asked, a little confused now._

" _I do, I do, but this book is absolutely fascinating," he said, excitement creeping into his voice. "It's about using runes for more active purposes, like dueling and healing!"_

 _A skeptical look crept onto Hermione's face. "That sounds interesting, Harry, but Professor Babbling never mentioned—"_

" _I know, but from what I'm reading there's no reason why it wouldn't work," Harry cut her off. "You know that I've been getting really good with runes, and I don't see any reason why these wouldn't work."_

" _I know it's exciting to learn about something new, Harry, but you can't just jump into a new field like this without a solid base of knowledge," Hermione argued._

" _Read this page," he insisted, shoving the book towards her. With a look of exasperation, she took the tome from his hands and began scanning the text. As her eyes moved down the page they widened, until she looked up at him._

" _Harry," she said, voice quiet and trembling. "This… this could've helped Neville's parents."_

" _I know, Hermione," he responded just as quietly. "That's why I want to work on this. I know that probably not all of it is accurate, but if I could help even a few people with this…"_

* * *

Harry had practically memorized that book since then, and he'd even made some additions after doing his own research, though those had mainly been in the dueling category. The Longbottoms had been killed long before he ever found the book, but Aldous Nott had been very confident that runes could be used for healing maladies that were magical or mental. In that moment, Harry made a decision.

"Ms. Greengrass," he began, "I don't want to get your hopes up, but I would like to offer to help you."

Astoria's jaw dropped. "I—but—what?" she stammered out. Her eyes were wide, and her lip was trembling slightly. "My father's been looking into this since before I was born, and he hasn't found anything."

"I know you don't have any reason to believe me," Harry started, "but I wouldn't have said anything if I didn't think I could do something." His expression was sincere, and he truly hoped he would accept his help. "I can't promise that I can fix this, but I'd like to try."

Astoria had managed to somewhat compose herself. "I'd like to speak with my father first, if you don't mind," she said, her pure-blood training finally kicking in.

"I'd rather not get his hopes up, too," Harry said carefully. He wasn't ready to tangle with Damien Greengrass yet, but he truly wanted to help her if he could. "I promise I only want to help, and that nothing I do will hurt you."

Astoria looked thoughtful, but not convinced. "I'm sorry, but I need to think about this first," she finally responded. "Could I sleep on it and tell you what I've decided on Thursday?"

Harry nodded. "Of course," he answered gently. "I only ask that you keep what I've told you to yourself," he added.

"Sure, Professor," she said, standing up. Harry stood as well and pushed in his chair as Saphira glided to his shoulders.

"Let's get to lunch," he said with a smile. The girl tried to smile back, but it faltered before it reached her eyes.

* * *

Harry's next challenge came during his last two classes that day. The first-year's classes were some of the ones he was most concerned about, mainly because many of the students were still getting used to the idea of magic. He knew that it would be very unlikely any of them would be able to cast a useful _Protego_ since they were still having trouble with basic Transfiguration. Confidence was key when casting defensive spells, so they would have to wait until at least the next term, if not longer.

"Welcome, everyone, to Defense Against the Dark Arts," he spoke loudly to the room. "My name is Nicolaus Blackwood, I'll be your instructor for at least the rest of the year."

"What happened to Mad-Eye?" a voice called out from near the back.

"I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name, Ms…?" Harry answered, scanning the back row.

"I'm Alyssa Potter," the girl replied, drawing Harry's eye towards her. She looked remarkably similar to what Harry imagined his mother had looked like in her own first year, though she had black hair instead of red, and looked rather tall for her age.

"Well, Professor Moody decided that he wasn't quite up for a teaching position," Harry said diplomatically, using the publicly accepted account of what had happened. "Professor Dumbledore was in a bit of a pinch, trying to fill the position so soon after the start of the year, so I'm afraid that you'll be stuck with me for at least a little while," he said with a smile. "Now, before we get started, I'd appreciate if you could all help me get up to date on what you've learned so far this year. Could anyone volunteer to show me something?"

Alyssa's brother, Adrian, raised his hand firmly from his seat just in front of his sister. "Adrian Potter, sir," he introduced herself, in a much politer manner than his sister had. "Professor Moody had just taught us the stinging hex. He said it was a good spell to get used to how to aim and cast before we got into more difficult spells."

Harry nodded, hoping for this answer based off of the class notes the imposter had left behind. "Okay, good, and has everyone been at least close to casting it properly?" The class gave a general nod of their heads to this. "Wonderful. Alright, so for today, we're going over to the dueling room for some target practice. For Thursday, I want you all to write one page of parchment telling me what you think are the most important things to know about shield spells. Sound good?"

He brought the class across the hall and set them up in the dueling pits, facing a series of ceramic targets. They were charmed to fix themselves automatically, so he instructed them to simply practice their aim. "Remember," he called out, "this practice applies to practically all of your classes. A poorly aimed spell can have very dangerous effects, so please take this seriously." A few of the students who had been messing around looked suitably chastised at this, Harry noted. He walked slowly to the end of the row, gently correcting wand motions and grips as he went.

He came to a sudden halt when he reached the last set of targets. The Potter twins were standing side-by-side facing the targets, knocking them off their stands just as fast as they reset themselves. They were speaking the incantations with confidence, but not shouting. It seemed to Harry that they were competing with each other, each trying to take down more targets than the other.

"That's quite good," he praised, walking up behind them. The twins lowered their wands and turned towards him. "Who taught you?" he asked, truly curious.

"Our dad did," Alyssa replied. "He's an Auror, and he showed us the best ways to aim spells before we got to Hogwarts." Adrian elbowed her. "Sir," she added belatedly.

"Ah, yes, I met him a few weeks ago," Harry answered with a smile. "Anyways, that's good work. I hope you realize this means I'll have high expectations of you two in the future," he added, laughing internally at the dread he saw in their eyes.

* * *

The next day, classes proceeded for the older students much like they had on Monday. He was still working through the last few quizzes, so he allowed them to continue their mock duels. After hearing about the detentions he'd handed out, the students seemed much more careful with their spells and casting. Though, Harry had decided to raise the wards around each of the pits so that stray spells wouldn't be an issue.

That afternoon, though, he had a special treat in store for the Gryffindor and Slytherin fourth-years. He was still rather disappointed in their lack of discipline, so he decided that he would have to let them know that they wouldn't be able to get away with dangerous behavior in his classroom. When they arrived in the newly-coined Defense corridor, they were surprised to find the dueling room locked, since they'd heard from the older students that they'd dueled again. Instead, they filed into the lecture room.

Harry was leaning against his desk, Saphira draped over his shoulders. He kept his silence as they seated themselves, waiting until silence had fallen again. He pushed off his desk, allowing Saphira to glide back to her perch.

"After the events of Monday's class, I came to a decision," he said calmly, his voice carrying easily throughout the room. "I thought I had made it clear then, but I will reiterate it now. I _will not_ allow students to endanger each other needlessly without supervision. As such," he continued, waving his hand lazily towards the chalkboard, "today, we will be reviewing some basics of safety." As he spoke, several pieces of chalk began scratching away at the boards. He smiled as he heard many of the students groan behind his back.

"Let's start off with proper wand handling…"

* * *

"…and remember," he shouted as the chairs began scraping away from the desks, "never keep your wand in your back pocket!"

Harry was far too pleased with himself and the outcome of that class. It had been very dry, as he intended, but he also made sure to make the class as educational as possible. He'd gone over some aspects of casting that he could tell many of the students had forgotten, such as proper grip strength. One of the most common issues he was seeing in the practice duels was students grasping far too tightly, making their wand motions far too jerky. Proper spell casting required fluidity, especially when dueling.

Saphira flew over to him, wrapping around his forearm with a soft hiss. He smiled at her as he put the last few papers on his desk into the lowest drawer and slid it closed. A soft tap of his finger made it glow blue as it sealed. He stood to leave but was surprised when he saw Hermione and Evelyn standing uncertainly across the desk.

"What can I do for you two?" he asked, gesturing to the two seats that had just materialized in front of the desk as he sat down. The two looked surprised for a moment, before they glanced at each other and sat.

"I—we, that is, felt that we needed to apologize for how we acted on Monday," Evelyn started. Harry said nothing, so she continued. "While I still maintain that we didn't start the fight, I agree that we should have handled it more maturely than we did," she finished.

"I agree, you could have handled it better," he responded, but continued before either student could interrupt. "However, I really appreciate you coming here and apologizing. I must admit, that thought never even crossed my mind when I was in school," he said with a slight grin.

"What will we be doing in detention, if you don't mind me asking, sir?" Hermione inquired.

"You see, I think that detentions should be informative, as well as punitive," Harry responded. "I won't tell you any details, but I promise it won't be like a detention you've had before." The two girls looked nearly fearful at his response, but Harry just smiled and stood. "Come on, dinner's about to start."

* * *

Harry walked slowly back to his rooms after dinner. He'd mentioned Hermione and Evelyn apologizing to him to Lily, who looked almost as if she would burst with pride. She, too, asked him what his detention would be like, but he still refused to answer, partly because he wasn't entirely sure yet.

As he walked, he carefully examined the walls and ceiling for any new additions. Simply preventing additional carvings in the existing stones did not mean that a different item couldn't be snuck in with its own spells on it. He was about to relax when he noticed a small pebble wedged between two of the teeth in the statue.

"What's that you've got there?" he asked as he walked up. The statue twitched a few times, then the face began to move smoothly.

"Just a little gift someone left for you," it ground out, mouth contorting before it spat the pebble towards him. Harry grabbed it with a tendril of magic, levitating it a few inches above his palm. He inspected it carefully, rotating it around as he did so. With a frown, he sent a pulse of magic into the stone. Light enveloped it, before being absorbed. As it did so, however, it momentarily revealed the tiny runes etched on its surface.

Harry frowned. From his brief experience with Daphne's work, he was certain that this sort of craftsmanship was far beyond her abilities. "Who put this here?" he asked the guardian.

"The same girl," it answered slowly. Harry was rather frustrated. He knew he would have to confront Daphne sooner or later, but he was hoping to be able to avoid it for longer than a week. With a sigh, he resolved to deal with her if this happened again. With a moment of focus, the stone in his hand crumbled to dust, which he then vanished. With that done, he turned and entered his rooms.

* * *

The third-years that morning had been practicing their shield charms and their stunners in the dueling room and had achieved a surprising amount of success. There were still a few students who hadn't managed the spell, but even they were close to a successful casting. Now it was his last class before lunch, the Gryffindor and Slytherin second-years. They hadn't been taught _Stupefy_ yet, but he was planning on letting them practice their shields against stinging hexes.

The students slowly filed into the dueling room, eyes wide as they took it in for the first time. Once they were all inside, he asked them to separate into pairs and was pleased to see that not every pair was of the same house, though most of them were. He noticed that Astoria was purposely avoiding his gaze, but he pretended not to notice, not wanting to bring any unwanted attention to her. He moved through the room making frequent corrections to wand motions and pronunciations, and by the end of class he was content with their progress. He dismissed the class, sending a short glance towards Astoria as he did, then returned to his classroom, intent on getting the last batch of quizzes graded. Saphira glided off his forearm to her perch in the corner, where she coiled up on one of the upper branches.

As he dipped his quill in ink to start grading, the door to the classroom slowly creaked open, revealing Astoria's form. She remained quiet as she descended the steps, then sat in the chair across from him. Harry put his quill in the inkwell and turned his attention to her.

"Good morning, Ms. Greengrass," he said calmly. He paused, waiting for her to take the lead on this conversation. For several minutes, she simply sat still with her eyes fixed upon the desk. Her hands were clasped tightly in her lap, and it was clear that she was very conflicted. As he watched, he saw her eyes suddenly focus before she met Harry's gaze.

"I want you to try," she said firmly, meeting his gaze, "but I will tell my father if I decide I want to."

"Of course, Ms. Greengrass," he responded. "I wouldn't expect anything else."

"Thank you, Professor," she said with a slight smile.

"You can call me Nic while we're not in class," Harry replied. "Even if my idea does work, it's going to take quite a bit of time." He reached down into the bottom drawer of his desk and pulled out a thin book. "Here, you should start reading this," he said, passing the book to her. "I took the liberty of writing up some of my notes that I think will be helpful for you to know."

"Thanks, Profe—Nic," she said with a blush.

"I think the best option will be for us to meet on the weekends," Harry continued. "Perhaps on Sunday mornings?" Astoria nodded in agreement, so Harry smiled and stood. "Come on, it's about time we head to lunch."

* * *

 **Author's Note: Another chapter down. Just a side note, I made a small change to chapter 6. All of the students in detention now have it together with Harry. Anyways, I hope you enjoy!**

 **Edit, 4/2/19: Removed magical oaths.**

 **Edit, 4/10/19: Grammar fixes.**

 **Edit, 11/8/19: Changed Harry's name.**


	9. The Tournament Begins

Early on Saturday afternoon, Harry was standing in the cold October air alongside the rest of the Hogwarts staff, arrayed before the steps to the main entrance. Saphira was wrapped tightly around his shoulders underneath his robes with just her nose poking out of his collar. Currently, she was in her Quetzalcoatl form, since the feathers helped to keep her just a little bit warmer. He was sandwiched between the Slytherin students and Bathsheda, who'd sidled over to him once she'd arrived.

"So, Nic," she began, "Albus requested that I go over the warding in your dueling room before you do any big demonstrations. Think I could come by tonight after the welcoming feast?"

"Sure thing," Harry replied with a smile. "I've got a few students in detention, but we won't be working in the dueling pits, so you'll have free range."

"More than one detention, and just your first week?" she asked, amusement clear on her face. "If you're not careful, you'll get a reputation with the students."

"Had to start off somewhere," he answered. "This way, at least they'll hopefully be less likely to start a fight during class."

"Fair point," she answered, turning her gaze to the grounds. "I can't believe Albus wouldn't even tell us how Beauxbatons and Durmstrang are getting here. Honestly, sometimes it feels like he cares more about theatrics than the Weasley twins."

Harry snorted. "Sounds about right to me," he said. He noticed a flicker of motion above the trees of the Forbidden Forest. He nudged Bathsheda. "Look there," he said quietly, gesturing. She stared for a few moments before her eyes widened.

"How on earth did you see that?" she asked. A nearby student overheard her question and followed her gaze.

"There! Above the trees!" Every head in the crowd swiveled towards the Forbidden Forest, looking frantically for whatever had been spotted.

"It's a dragon!" one student cried out.

"Don't be stupid," her neighbor replied. "It's a flying house!"

The murmuring continued as the shape drew nearer, and eventually it revealed itself as a carriage, drawn by what appeared to be normal horses. However, when the carriage swept low over the surface of the lake, the crowd gasped as the true scale of it became clear. The six palomino horses were absolutely massive, at least fifteen feet tall at the shoulder, with pure white wings that stretched at least thirty feet from tip to tip. Similarly, the carriage they were pulling was much larger than it had first appeared. It was entirely powder blue, with the exception of the tinted windows running the nearly ninety-foot length.

With a wide, sweeping turn, the carriage landed softly on the grass by the lake, and the horses folded their wings, slowing to a trot as they pulled the carriage up to the doors of the castle. Many of the students took an instinctive step backwards as the massive creatures approached, but Dumbledore strode forwards confidently towards the door of the carriage. As the carriage came to a halt, the large doors near the front slowly opened outwards as a silver staircase slid out from underneath.

Madame Maxime, dressed all in black, confidently stepped from the doorway, where Dumbledore stood to greet her with an extended hand.

"Madame Maxime," Dumbledore said with a smile on his lips, "welcome to Hogwarts." As he spoke, he bent his head slightly to place a kiss on the back of her hand.

"Dumbly-dore," she spoke warmly, "a pleasure to see you again. I trust you are well?" Her voice was deep, but she spoke softly.

"I am quite excellent, thank you," the headmaster replied. "I do hope you had a pleasant journey." He slowly began guiding her towards the front steps to the castle, and finally the French students began to disembark, falling into a neat double line behind their headmistress. "You are, of course, welcome to wait for the Durmstrang delegation with us if you would like, else Mr. Filch will lead you to the Great Hall."

"I think we will go inside," she replied, glancing at her shivering students. "The 'orses, though –"

"Not to worry, our groundskeeper will be happy to care for them," Dumbledore cut in, passing a pointed glance towards Hagrid. The large man, for his part, had been practically bouncing on his feet ever since the horses had come into sight, and he quickly strode forwards. Harry tuned them out, instead electing to observe the students.

He immediately recognized Fleur Delacour, who was standing just behind her headmistress. For a moment he felt a light tug on his attention as her passive allure struck his senses, but he shook it off with practiced ease. As he glanced about at the Hogwarts students, he could see that nearly all the males in the crowd were gazing at her without reserve.

The girl standing next to Fleur, a short brunette with alert brown eyes, leaned over and whispered something into the Veela's ear. Fleur's stoic expression cracked for a moment, and her lips twitched upwards at the corners. Her eyes scanned over the Hogwarts crowd, briefly passing over Harry but not fixing on him.

"Come," Madame Maxime called to her students, apparently finished with her instructions for Hagrid, who was attempting to coax the massive creatures towards his hut. The students hurried after her, walking rapidly to keep up with her massive strides. As Fleur passed through the main doors, the students returned to their normal state, many of the boys blinking rapidly and glancing around in confusion.

Bathsheda was also watching the students with amusement. "I sure hope they figure that out soon," she said quietly. "It'll be hard to get any teaching done if they can't control themselves around her." Harry grinned back.

"I'm sure I'll be able to find a way to keep their attention off of her," he said with a smirk.

"Why am I not comforted by that?" she replied. Harry just shrugged mysteriously and turned back to the grounds. In the distance, he could hear the sounds of Durmstrang's ship rising from the depths of the lake.

"The lake!" Lee Jordan shouted out, pointing.

Just as Harry remembered, the mast of the Durmstrang ship slowly began to rise from the surface of the lake. At first it rose slowly, then it sped up until, with a roar of water, the hull came into view. A large wave of water radiated outwards from the ship as the sails dropped, pushing the vessel towards the shore. When it arrived, a bridge slid from the deck and figures began making their way off the ship and towards the waiting crowd. Karkaroff was dressed in his impeccable silver furs and called out to Dumbledore as he approached.

"Dumbledore!" his deep voice exclaimed, "how are you, my friend?"

"Quite well, Igor, thank you," Dumbledore responded genially. "Welcome back to Hogwarts. Madame Maxime and her students have already arrived, so please, follow me to the Great Hall."

"Lead the way," Karkaroff responded, gesturing for Krum to step up beside him, causing whispers to break out as he stepped into the light. Harry swore that even Bathsheda was excited to see the celebrity in person, though she hid her reaction much better than any of the students.

The Hogwarts professors waited until the Durmstrang students were all inside the castle, then began ushering their own students back to the Great Hall for dinner. Harry and Bathsheda hung towards the back of the group, making sure that none of the students were trying to skip out on the feast. He overheard some of the students arguing over who would be selected as champion, which prompted his companion to ask him a question.

"Nic, do you have any thoughts on who the Hogwarts champion will be?" she asked quietly, so as not to alert the students to their topic of conversation.

"Hadn't really thought about it, to be honest," Harry lied. In truth, he was very concerned as to the outcome of the champion selection. Crouch, Jr. had been outed very early in the school year, so it was possible that he hadn't had a chance to tamper with the goblet. He knew he couldn't count on that, though, and was somewhat resigned to something going wrong.

"I think Cedric Diggory would be a good option," Bathsheda continued. "From what I've heard, he's pretty good in all of his classes, and he's pretty powerful to boot."

Harry just hummed noncommittally as they walked into the Great Hall, where the visiting students were just beginning to sit down, with Beauxbatons at the Ravenclaw table and Durmstrang at the Slytherin. Harry and Bathsheda walked to the head table, where their chairs had been moved closer to the end, since Karkaroff and Maxime were seated on either side of Dumbledore. There were two more empty seats next to each of them. Saphira slid down his arm and settled in front of his plate. As the last few people sat down, Dumbledore rose to his feet, causing silence to fall almost immediately.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, ghosts and guests," he spoke into the quiet room, "I wish to give you the warmest welcome to Hogwarts. I hope that all of you will enjoy your stay here." Some of the visitors gave each other pointed looks at this, but none spoke. "Now, at the end of the feast the Triwizard Tournament will officially begin, but for now, please, enjoy your meal!" The plates filled with food the instant he finished speaking, and conversation broke out immediately. Harry filled his plate with small samples from many of the foreign dishes that had been prepared and began eating.

He watched with amusement as Fleur approached the Gryffindor table in search of bouillabaisse, causing Ron and Neville to stop talking and just stare. After a long, awkward pause, Evelyn stood and brought over another bowl, breaking the spell that had settled over the two boys. They immediately blushed at their rather embarrassing reaction while Fleur thanked Evelyn and returned to the Ravenclaws.

Eventually, the feast came to a close. Ludo Bagman came bouncing in to the hall through the main doors, followed closely by Percy Weasley, who was holding a large stack of papers. Harry was surprised at this, but it seemed that Barty Crouch, Sr. had been removed from his position after the Ministry discovered that his son had broken out of prison. The two men took their seats at the head table, with Bagman next to Maxime and Percy next to Karkaroff.

When the plates cleared themselves, Dumbledore stood once more. The hall fell silent immediately, ready to hang on his every word. "We are now just a few moments away from the start of the Triwizard Tournament," he said. "I will briefly cover the rules before we begin, but first, please welcome Mr. Ludo Bagman, Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports," he gestured to Bagman, "and Mr. Percy Weasley, Interim Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation." There was a fair bit of applause for Bagman, but nearly none for Percy.

"These two men have worked tirelessly over the past few months, along with their foreign counterparts, to ensure that the tournament is as safe and entertaining as possible," Dumbledore explained. "As such, they will be joining the judges' panel, which will also consist of myself, Professor Karkaroff, and Madame Maxime. Together, we will be evaluating the efforts of each of the champions." The quiet conversation in the crowd started to pick up now, a palpable excitement building in the air.

"Mr. Filch, please bring out the casket," Dumbledore said, smiling as he saw the students' eagerness. Filch slowly walked forward, clearly struggling to carry the large container. He set it carefully on the floor next to the headmaster before slinking back to the shadows along the wall. Dumbledore nodded to him, then turned back to the students.

"The tasks have already been determined, and all three will take place throughout the year. Schedules will be posted in your dormitories soon. These tasks will test the champions in every way possible, from their courage and strength to their cunning and intelligence," Dumbledore explained, pointedly glancing to each of the house tables. "One champion will be selected to represent each school, and they will be chosen by an impartial judge." At this, Dumbledore tapped lightly on the casket with his wand. Slowly, the wood on the top melted away, and the familiar form of the Goblet of Fire rose into view.

"This," Dumbledore exclaimed, "is the Goblet of Fire!" The crowd looked nonplussed. It certainly didn't look impressive, especially before the flames had been lit. "If you would like to participate in the tournament, simply write your name on a piece of paper and drop it in. As a reminder, the Ministry has decided that no student under the age of fourteen is allowed to participate." Finally, Dumbledore tapped the goblet again, and blue flames burst from the inside, dancing along the edges.

"As one final reminder," Dumbledore said in a serious tone, quickly silencing the chatter that had begun when the goblet caught fire, "whoever is chosen as champion will have no choice but to complete all three tasks, as the act of dropping your name in the goblet creates a magically binding contract. There is no turning back if you are chosen." The grave manner in which he spoke subdued the students significantly, but Harry had no doubt that their enthusiasm would return before long.

"I think I have kept you long enough," Dumbledore said finally. "The champions will be chosen in two days' time, at the Halloween feast. Off to bed with you," he finished, and he resumed his seat, speaking quietly to Karkaroff and Maxime. Harry sighed as he saw the hungry looks on the faces of many students. He could only hope that the tournament would be less dangerous this time around, given the lower age limit, but he doubted it.

"Well, I've got to get to my classroom," Harry said to Bathsheda as Saphira coiled around his forearm. "You want to walk with me?"

"No, that's alright," the witch responded. "I need to get some of my materials from my office. I'll be there soon, though."

"Sounds good," Harry answered as he stood and began to move towards the doors. He could see his five charges turning out of the Great Hall, not following their housemates, so he quickened his stride and caught up with them just as they arrived at his classroom. A subtle flick of his fingers unsealed the door, and he ushered them inside.

"So," he said once they had dropped their bags by the door, "I know you probably don't think you deserve to be here, but I take safety in my classroom _very_ seriously." The five students had the good sense to look slightly abashed at this. "Now, I wasn't there to see how the fight started, but in the future, you should have the good sense to not strike back in my classroom. _Any_ offensive spells cast in here outside of my instructions are grounds for detention." The students nodded, though he could tell that Ron and Seamus were disgruntled. "I've decided that your detention today will be learning how to properly cast and maintain a shield charm, on the off chance that something like this happens again." He could tell that all of them were surprised at this.

"I know you were probably expecting to do lines or something else like that, but I don't really believe in pointless punishments," he explained. "Punishments should be designed to teach you something, not just to discipline you." The group nodded at this, thought they still had confused expressions on their faces. "Here's how this is going to work. You five will stand over there against the wall. When I say, you'll cast shield charms. I'll be over here, casting stinging hexes at you all. If your shield breaks, try to recast it before I can hit you. If you do get hit, just raise your other hand and you'll get a short break." The students looked almost fearful at this point, not looking forward to being on the wrong end of their professor's wand. He was about to direct the students to their positions when the door to the classroom opened.

"Nic," Bathsheda called out as she entered, "sorry to interrupt, but I've got all my equipment here."

"Just head over to the pits over there," Harry pointed. "Once their detention is over, I'll join you and you can let me know if I made any mistakes," he joked. Bathsheda laughed as she moved to the pits.

"Alright, you lot, what're you waiting for?" Harry said as he turned back around. The five students quickly moved to the wall, then waited for Harry's call. "Alright, cast your shields," he instructed. Each of the Gryffindors raised their wands, and incanted " _Protego!_ "

Harry watched carefully as a shield blossomed from each of their wands. They all had a silvery hue to them, though each had a slightly different tint to it. Evelyn's was a deep green, matching her eyes, not to mention his own, while Hermione's was a light shade of violet. Neville's was a dark blue. He observed for a moment, carefully noting any flickers in the shields that would indicate either a lack of focus or a poorly cast shield. He nodded when he noticed only minor imperfections.

"Mr. Finnegan, make sure you keep your wand level. It takes significant focus to move while casting a shield, and I don't think any of you are there yet." Seamus nodded and stilled his wand. "Ms. Granger, make sure you continue to focus on powering the shield. Focus and determination are important, but unless you fuel the spell, it will fail." Hermione's eyes narrowed, and her shield became slightly more opaque. "Excellent. If you're all ready," he waited for them all to nod, "then we'll begin."

Starting on one side, he slowly began casting stinging hexes. For a few minutes, he kept his pace slow and his spell power low, allowing the students to get accustomed to maintaining a shield for more than a few seconds. "Alright, I'm going to start increasing my speed and power now," he warned. He continued for about a minute, nearly doubling his earlier rate and slightly increasing the power behind his spells.

With the sound of shattering glass, Ron's spell crumbled, the light fading into the air. He nearly fumbled his wand in surprise but managed to recast in time to block Harry's next spell. Seamus' was next, and he failed to block Harry's next stinger, so he took a short break. At this point, Harry could see beads of sweat starting to form on the foreheads of all five, evidence that they were straining to maintain their shields. It was time for them to take a break.

Without warning, Harry tripled his casting pace, now casting a spell every second, while maintaining the strength of the spells. He watched with mild amusement as each student's eyes widened, then narrowed as they attempted to hold back the onslaught. Ron's shield failed again, and he was unable to regroup, so he stepped to the side with Seamus. Hermione's was next, and though she managed to recast before the next spell, it failed as well. She stepped to the side.

It was now down to just Neville and Evelyn, and since Harry hadn't slowed his pace, they were each blocking a spell every two seconds. He could see sweat dripping down their brows now, neither of them willing to give an inch. Deciding to end things for now, he cast two extremely strong stingers nearly simultaneously at each student, shattering their shields. They both bent over and put their hands on their knees, panting heavily. Harry nodded.

"That was quite good for a first attempt," Harry praised them, though they looked horrified that this was just a 'first attempt.' "I'll give you a few minutes to recover, then we'll go again," he said as he walked towards Bathsheda.

"Well, have you found any glaring mistakes yet?" he asked as she waved her wand over the carved runes, comparing them to some of her notes.

"Quite the opposite," she said excitedly. "I must say, it's a real shame you didn't go into warding after you got your NEWT."

"I considered it, but Defense just seemed like a more important subject at the time," Harry replied, smiling slightly at the joke that no one else would understand.

"Some of these ward schemes are really innovative," she complimented him. "I haven't seen injury detection wards tied into an alert ward before, but now that I've seen it I'm shocked that it's not a standard addition to our classrooms. I assume the alert ward is tied to you?"

"Yep. That one's specifically for the dueling pits, but I have a larger one tied to each of my classrooms, in case something happens when I'm not there," he explained.

"I'll have to speak to the headmaster about installing this in more of the classrooms, and perhaps on the Quidditch pitch as well," she mused. "It won't be able to prevent injuries, but at the very least if something serious happens, someone can get there sooner." She turned to face him. "Do you mind if I copy this ward scheme down?"

"Be my guest," he said with a smile. "Same goes for any of the other ones."

A wave of her wand transferred a section of the runes to a large piece of parchment next to her. "You know, if you haven't already, you should consider sending a sample to the Runemaster's Guild. They'll register this particular scheme under your name, and if you choose to make it public they'll ensure that it can't be used without a small fee."

Harry hummed in thought. By the time he had become skilled in warding, there was almost no real governing bodies to speak of in Britain. "You know, I may just do that," he said with a smile. "If you'll excuse me, I think they've had enough of a break."

"Don't make them pass out, Nic," Bathsheda said with a grin.

* * *

Nearly an hour later, the five students were exhausted. Each successive round had been shorter than the previous, and Harry called an end to their exercises after the fifth. Bathsheda had finished her inspection a while ago and had left the room quietly while Harry had been casting.

"I must say, I'm quite impressed with all of you," Harry said as the students sluggishly moved to the door to grab their belongings. "I was only expecting to get two or three rounds out of you."

Seamus groaned. "Next time, Professor, just send me to the hospital wing instead. It'll probably hurt less." Ron and Neville laughed at this, and even Hermione and Evelyn cracked a smile.

"Now, Mr. Finnegan, where would the fun in that be?" Harry joked back. "Now, you'd better get going, curfew will start soon. I trust that none of you will disrupt my classes in the future?"

He got a dutiful "Yes, sir," from each of them as they exited the room. When Hermione closed the door behind her as she left, the grin slid from Harry's face almost instantaneously. He hadn't been anticipating how mentally exhausting it would be to spend so much time around the counterparts of his friends. He collapsed into one of the nearby chairs and dropped his head into his hands.

* * *

 _February 23_ _rd_ _, 2000_

 _Harry stumbled to the back of the shop, his face pale. Moving through the doorway, he saw a pile of rubble where the back wall used to be. Unsteadily, he made his way to the top of the debris and heaved a sigh of relief when he saw Hermione and the old man hurrying down the narrow alley._

" _Hermione," he choked out, his voice hoarse. His friend immediately turned back and rushed to his side, moving herself under his shoulder as his knees nearly collapsed._

" _Are you alright?" she whispered. "Did you get hurt?"_

" _No, I'm—I'm fine," he replied._

" _Are they coming after us?" she asked._

" _No, they—they won't be," Harry managed to respond, the image of a man's face contorted in pain flashing before his eyes. Hermione gave him a worried glance but chose not to pursue it._

" _Come on, we need to get out of here," Hermione said instead, guiding him gently through the alley. The old man gave them a piercing glance as they passed him, then coughed to get their attention._

" _You know," he said, "I think I know someone who could help you."_

* * *

 _After a hurried discussion, Harry and Hermione agreed to follow the man further down the alley. They arrived at a nondescript building after about fifteen minutes, where the man gestured for them to hang back. He knocked on the door, which cracked open, followed by a whispered conversation. After a few minutes, the man waved them over._

" _Good luck," he said with a light smile, before walking away. The door opened just enough for the two to walk inside. With a pointed glance at each other, Harry and Hermione entered the building, ready to act at a moment's notice._

" _Place your wands on the floor," a voice spoke. Harry couldn't tell where it came from, but he gently extended his magical senses, and found someone hiding behind a false wall. He nudged Hermione lightly, and gently nodded his head towards where the person was hiding._

" _I'd like an assurance that we won't be attacked, first," Harry called out._

" _I'm afraid I can't offer more than my word," the man replied. "If my allies aren't satisfied, you'll be returned to the alley with your memories removed, and you won't be harmed unless you attack first."_

 _Harry and Hermione exchanged glances. This seemed about as far from a Death Eater operation as possible, so after a silent conversation, they decided to go with it._

" _Alright, what do we need to do?" Harry asked._

" _Like I said, wands on the floor," the voice repeated._

 _Hermione drew her wand slowly and placed it on the floor. It was immediately summoned further into the hall._

" _Now yours," the voice said._

" _I don't have a wand," Harry responded. "It was destroyed." He felt a wave of magic wash over him, searching for wands. It didn't find one._

" _Put these on," the voice said, and two dark hoods floated through the darkness, halting just in front of them. Each of them grabbed one, then pulled them over their heads. With a yank behind his navel, Harry vanished._

* * *

 _As usual, Harry was unable to keep his footing when the portkey landed. He sprawled out on a cold stone floor, unable to see. Immediately, he spread his magical senses as far as he could and was worried when he sensed more than a few people standing in the room with him, though he was relieved when he felt Hermione's presence a few feet behind him. Slowly, with his hands held out to his side in a nonthreatening posture, he got back to his feet, and backed up carefully until he made contact with Hermione._

" _Can we take these off?" Harry asked. There was a short pause._

" _Very well. But be warned, any false moves and you will be Obliviated at the very least," spoke a voice that Harry was sure he recognized. He wracked his brain but couldn't place it._

 _Slowly, Harry reached up and pulled the hood from his head. It took a moment to adjust to the light, but soon his vision cleared. He turned to make sure Hermione was alright before turning back to the person who had been speaking._

" _Madam Bones?" he asked incredulously. It couldn't be anyone else. The square jaw framed by greying hair, along with the monocle, made it obvious._

" _It seems you already know who I am," she spoke, "but I don't know yours."_

 _Harry glanced around at the unfamiliar faces. "Could we speak in private, perhaps?" he asked. He could visibly see the displeasure at this request on many of the others in the room. "We have no wands, so we're no threat," he argued._

 _Madam Bones stood for a moment, pensive. "Very well," she finally decided. "Follow me." She turned and walked to a large set of doors behind her. Harry took a moment to glance around the room he had arrived in. The floor was entirely white marble, indicating that they were likely in an old family manor or something similar. Based on their host, it was almost certainly the Bones ancestral home. The two followed Madam Bones into what appeared to be her study._

" _Now," she continued, closing the door behind them with a flick of her wand, "who are you?" Harry could tell now that her patience was beginning to wear thin. He glanced at Hermione, who nodded back to him. With a sigh, Harry relaxed his magic and resumed his normal form._

 _Madam Bones' jaw dropped. "Harry Potter?" she asked, shock clear on her face. Only a moment later, though, it returned to a neutral expression. "How do I know I can believe you?"_

" _Perhaps one of my former classmates? We can exchange old memories if that's enough for you," Harry suggested._

" _How about a drop of Veritaserum?" Madam Bones offered, pulling a small vial from her desk drawer. "I can confirm your identity, and then we can talk." Harry nodded, and placed a single drop on his tongue. He immediately felt himself relax._

" _What is your name?" Madam Bones asked._

" _Harry James Potter," he replied._

" _Who is your companion?"_

" _Hermione Jean Granger. She's currently under Polyjuice."_

 _The Bones matriarch flicked her wand, a silver blur flying through the wall. She sat back in her chair. "I can't believe you're both still alive. When we hadn't heard anything about you for so long, we assumed the worst, but it was always strange that You-Know-Who hadn't announced your death."_

 _Just then, the doors of the office burst open, revealing three people Harry never expected to see again: Susan Bones, Seamus Finnegan, and Neville Longbottom. Harry was nearly overwhelmed with relief, since he'd believed them all to be dead after Voldemort had taken Hogwarts._

* * *

"Professor?" a voice cut in, interrupting Harry's train of thought. He schooled his expression as quickly as he could, but he suspected that his visitor had caught a glimpse.

"How can I help you, Ms. Greengrass?" Harry said as he turned around. The blonde looked unsure, an expression he was sure was a rare occurrence on her face.

"I was wondering why you met with my sister last week," she asked hesitantly.

"I'm sorry, Ms. Greengrass, but I'm afraid that I can't tell you that," Harry said. "If you want to know, you'll have to ask your sister. As a professor, I can't discuss any other students with you."

Daphne scowled. "I tried that, and she wouldn't tell me anything." Harry hid a smile when she said that. If Astoria hadn't told Daphne, she probably hadn't told her father either.

"Perhaps, Ms. Greengrass, she will tell you when she is ready," Harry said diplomatically. "Maybe you could help her to get a head start in another subject? Runes, perhaps?" Harry suggested, not so subtly referring to her attempts at spying on him. He saw a faint blush appear on her cheeks, along with a slight widening of her eyes. "Now, if you'll excuse me, it's been a rather long day, and I really need to get to bed. Was there anything else?"

"No, sir," she said quietly. Harry nodded, and the two left the classroom.

* * *

 **Disclaimer: I took heavy inspiration from The Goblet of Fire in this chapter. I reworked most of it, but several phrases may be verbatim from GoF.**

 **Author's Note: Long time, no see. Life got pretty hectic, but I'm hoping to get back into it. Thanks to everyone who's stuck with me for this long, and thanks for anyone who favorites and reviews!**

 **Edit, 3/29/19: Fixed some spelling and syntax issues.**

 **Edit, 3/30/19: Fixed a continuity issue.**

 **Edit, 4/2/19: Removed magical oaths.**

 **Edit, 11/8/19: Changed Harry's name.**


	10. The Champions

After breakfast the next morning, Harry walked to his classroom to prepare for his first meeting with Astoria. He had been working in his free time to design a regimen that would help Astoria to gain some semblance of control over her own magic, even if it was fighting against her at every turn. He'd skimmed the books that he'd pilfered from Gringotts, looking for any mention of a curse like what she had described, but he found almost nothing. There were bloodline curses, sure, but those invariably affected every single descendant of the victim, without exception. That wasn't the only strange thing, though. He also couldn't find a single blood curse that varied in strength over time, as Astoria had suggested it did. They either worked, or they didn't, and that was that.

Harry groaned and dropped his head into his hands. This was a paradox he was not fully equipped to handle, and for a moment he almost regretted offering his help. As his mind raced, Saphira slid up to his shoulder.

" _Harry, what's going on?_ " she asked, confusion clear in her tone.

" _I made a promise to somebody, and I'm not sure if I'll be able to complete it,_ " Harry answered honestly.

" _Why did you make the promise, then?_ "

" _Because it was the right thing to do,_ " Harry answered, almost indignantly.

" _Is helping her going to help you in the future?_ " she asked, curiosity in her voice.

" _Not necessarily. It's possible, but that's not why I did it,_ " Harry insisted. " _If I could help and didn't try, what kind of person would I be?_ "

" _Probably a pretty normal one,_ " Saphira responded. Harry couldn't help but scoff at this.

" _You got me there, Saphira._ " A soft knock sounded at his door. "Come in!" he called. " _Saphira, do your best not to scare her, alright?_ " he whispered as Astoria entered the room, making her way down to the front of the classroom.

"Good morning, Ms. Greengrass," he greeted, standing and pulling out the chair for her. He dragged his own chair to the side of the desk before sitting back down.

"Good morning, Professor," she said. He could feel nervousness flowing off her in waves.

"How are you feeling today?" he asked, doing his best to calm her nerves before they got started. "Classes going alright?"

"Pretty okay, yeah," she responded, shoulders relaxing a little. "Transfiguration has been a little rough the past week, but I'm doing alright in my other classes."

"Good, good. Did you get a chance to start reading that book I gave you?" Harry inquired.

"Yeah," she said, blushing a little. "I've almost finished it."

"Excellent," Harry said with a smile. "Have you started any of the exercises yet?"

Astoria nodded. "I've been working on the, um, the _Lumos_ exercise."

"Care to show me what you can do so far?" Harry asked.

Astoria firmly nodded to him, then stood and drew her wand. " _Lumos,_ " she said firmly. Harry had to admit, he was rather impressed. The booklet he had given her contained some notes he'd made regarding exercises to help control one's magic, and one of the first points he'd made had been that confidence was key, not volume. He'd seen far too many witches and wizards shout their spells in the belief that it would make them stronger or better, but the only reason that worked was because shouting gave them confidence.

He watched as a pure white light flooded from the tip of her wand, then watched her brows knitting together in concentration. The light slowly dimmed to just a spark of light, then grew until it hurt to look at. It then returned to its original intensity, and then gradually turned to a deep green, then a light blue. It started to change to red but flickered and died before it could. Astoria lowered her wand at this.

"Very good, Ms. Greengrass," Harry praised. "To be honest, I wasn't expecting you to be able to do anything like that until at least a few weeks from now."

"Thanks, Professor," she said, shrinking a little under his praise.

"Remember, it's Nic while we're here," Harry said. "Now, I'd appreciate if you could try that one more time. This time, I'm going to cast a spell while you do it that'll help me monitor how your magic is working."

" _Lumos,_ " Astoria said again. Harry lifted his wand and let his magic drift towards the girl. He could practically see the way her core made contact with her wand, allowing her wandtip to light. The channel widened as the light intensified, then narrowed as it dimmed. When the colors began to change, tiny strands of magic from her core would individually connect or disconnect, modifying the effect.

Just like before, when the color began to change to red, one of the strands of magic disconnected from her wand. This time, though, no strand moved to replace it, and it caused something of a chain reaction, and each of the other strands of magic detached one by one until the spell finally failed.

"Hmm," he mused. This was an effect he hadn't read about, much less seen before. "Ms. Greengrass, would you mind casting _Protego_ for me?"

She nodded and raised her wand once more. " _Protego!_ " she called out, a little more forcefully than she had previously. As it had during class earlier that week, a pale blue shield flickered into view. Harry was watching more carefully this time and felt as a thick cord of magic connected her core to her wand. As she held the spell, individual strands would drop back to the core and be replaced by others. A few seconds after casting, one of the strands failed to be replaced, a domino effect that ended with the total collapse of the spell.

"I think," Harry started, "I see part of the problem." He gestured for her to sit back down. "Would you mind telling me what you know about your condition?"

"I don't know a lot," she said. "My grandma had the same condition, and my dad—my father said that as she got older, it just got harder for her to use magic. By the time I was born, she wasn't able to cast any spells, and she died when I was three." Astoria paused for a moment, glancing around the room. "Profess—Nic, what kind of snake is that?"

Harry smiled as Saphira slithered towards the edge of the desk. "Saphira is a chameleon viper. It means she can change to look like any snake that she's seen before." As he spoke, Saphira's form shimmered, and dark feathers grew along the length of her body. "That's what a Quetzalcoatl looks like," Harry explained.

Astoria had a fascinated look on her face. "That's amazing," she said, admiring the glossy feathers on the top of her head. She almost began stroking them but drew her hand back. "Can I… Could I pet her?" she asked hesitantly. Harry glanced at Saphira.

" _As long as she doesn't pull my feathers out,_ " Saphira hissed.

"Of course," Harry said to Astoria, "just make sure you don't pull any of those feathers out, she probably won't like that."

Slowly, Astoria brought her hand towards Saphira's head, and gently stroked the small feathers there. The snake hissed, enjoying the contact, and Astoria visibly relaxed.

"Would you mind telling me the rest of what you know?" Harry asked gently.

"The only other thing is that using a lot of magic at once can make it worse," she said quietly, continuing to gently pet Saphira. "My father told me that my grandma had to make an emergency Portkey once, and apparently she… deteriorated… a lot faster after that." It was clear that this wasn't an easy topic of conversation for her. Her eyes were downcast, and her voice was getting quieter as she continued. Harry decided that was enough for one day.

"Thank you for telling me that," Harry said softly. "I think I've got all I need to get started. Same time next week?" he asked.

* * *

Harry spent the remainder of the day engrossed in research. He had several pages of notes covered in runes, Arithmantic equations, and many disjointed thoughts. He frequently referenced Aldous Nott's journal on runic magic and perused every medical text he could find for any mention of the symptoms Astoria had mentioned. He missed lunch, but he barely noticed as he continued working. He knew he wouldn't have much time during the week to work on this, so he wanted to make as much progress as he could before the week began.

" _Harry,_ " Saphira hissed from her tree next to his desk, " _it's time for a break. You're driving me nuts._ "

" _What?_ " Harry asked, losing his train of thought.

" _You've been staring at that page for the last hour,_ " she complained. " _I think we both need to get out of here._ "

Harry sighed. " _You're probably right,_ " he conceded.

" _Of course I am,_ " Saphira said. " _Let's get out of here._ " She slid up his arm as he walked to her tree and draped herself over his shoulders.

" _Where to, mistress?_ " Harry asked jokingly. Saphira slapped the side of his head with her tail.

" _Don't be rude,_ " she commanded. " _Do you have anything else you wanted to do today?_ "

Harry hummed as they walked down the Defense corridor. " _Actually, I did want to speak to Dumbledore about one of my classes,_ " Harry mused.

" _Then let's go do that,_ " Saphira suggested. " _You need to get your mind working on something else._ "

It was about four o'clock, so Harry had plenty of time before dinner to make his case. He made his way up the grand staircase to the third floor and approached the gargoyle.

"Er, can I go up?" he hesitantly asked the statue. It turned its head to stare at him for a moment, then jumped to the side as the wall opened to reveal the rotating spiral staircase. Harry stepped on and walked to the top, knocking firmly on the oak door.

"Enter," Dumbledore's voice called from beyond as the door swung inwards. Harry strode into the headmaster's office, surprised at how identical it was to the office he'd known in his past. The table by the window had far fewer devices on it, but other than that he couldn't see a difference. Fawkes was perched near the window but squawked when Harry entered.

"Nic, what can I do for you?" the old man asked, moving a stack of papers to the side and folding his hands together. Harry sat down in the chair across from him.

"I have an idea for a class," Harry began, "but it's certainly not what you would call typical."

Dumbledore looked intrigued at this. "Go on."

"I think that it would be a good idea for some of the older students to have a real experience with some of the more dangerous curses," Harry started. "I'm definitely not going to let them cast any of them," he continued before Dumbledore before he could shut him down, "but I think that showing them how serious and damaging these spells can be can be."

Dumbledore was clearly thinking hard. "Exactly which spells do you intend to demonstrate?" he inquired.

"The Unforgivables," Harry said firmly. "They are arguably the three most influential spells from the last war, but none of them have the firsthand experience that adults who lived through it do," Harry explained. "If we show them how horrible these spells can be, they might understand what people had to go through."

"Hmm," the headmaster mused. "And how exactly do you plan to demonstrate them?"

"The Cruciatus and Killing Curses I could demonstrate on some animals that Hagrid would've killed for his Skrewts anyways," Harry suggested. "However, I think that the Imperious would be more effective if we cast it on them."

"You want to cast an Unforgivable on students?" Dumbledore asked, a little bit of anger in his voice. Harry raised his hands to placate him.

"Obviously, we wouldn't make them do anything too bad," Harry backtracked. "I just think they need to understand how helpless it can make people feel, and how even they could be persuaded to do something awful under its influence."

Dumbledore was now back in thought. "I'll have to do some thinking on this," Dumbledore finally said. "I'll also need to speak to some people at the Ministry. If this is going to happen, it'll require proper oversight."

"I understand," Harry responded. "Thank you for hearing me out, Albus."

"Of course, Nic, of course," the headmaster said with a smile. "I'll let you know as soon as I talk to the Ministry." It was a clear dismissal, so Harry smiled back and left the office.

* * *

Classes that Monday had been rather trying. The students were far too excited about the champion selection that night to really pay attention to a lecture, so Harry let them work their frustrations out with some target practice in the dueling room. He was hoping that Dumbledore would approve his lessons, so he could do them on Wednesday, but he wasn't certain he was convinced. In addition, the foreign students would be joining his 6th and 7th year classes on Wednesday, so the heads of the other schools would have to be convinced as well.

"Alright, that's enough," Harry called out, a few minutes before class was scheduled to end. "I can tell when your minds are on other subjects. Go on, the champion selection is soon." The students happily packed up their things and flooded out of the room. Harry stayed back, making sure the wards were properly shut down before leaving the room, locking the door with a flick of his hand. The door glowed a dark green as it sealed.

"Professor?" Evelyn spoke up, pushing herself off the wall next to the door.

"What can I do for you, Ms. Potter?" he asked as she fell into step beside him.

"I was wondering if I could, I don't know, maybe get some tutoring from you?" she asked hesitantly.

"Why do you think you need that?" Harry asked. "You do know you're near the top of the class, right? You certainly don't need it."

"It's not for grades!" she exclaimed, before forcibly calming herself. She stopped short of entering the main corridor to the Great Hall. "The imposter, the one you fought," she explained. "He… He was one of the Death Eaters that killed my grandparents."

Harry had stopped walking now, too. "I'm… I'm sorry to hear that, Ms. Potter," he said honestly. He hadn't known that. "But what does this have to do with—"

"I don't want to be weak," she said, cutting him off but keeping her voice low. "My—I heard my parents talking about it after I left, like they didn't think I could handle it." She swallowed hard. "I want to show them that I can handle it. That's why I put my name in the Goblet of Fire."

Harry used every ounce of his considerable willpower to prevent himself from shouting at the girl. "Let me make sure I understand the situation," Harry said. "You felt your parents weren't treating you like an adult, so you signed up for a potentially deadly tournament?"

Evelyn glared at him. "I'm sorry, Professor," she said, anger in her voice, "did you think that I came here to ask you to mock me?"

Harry could slap himself for his reaction. "I apologize, Ms. Potter," he said, wiping his face of any expression. "I'm afraid I can't accept any students for extra lessons at this point, I don't want to be accused of favoritism in my second week. Perhaps, if you still feel this way in a few months, you could ask again?" He couldn't afford to let anything slip, and if he reacted this strongly to just a short conversation, regular meetings couldn't be anything but a disaster.

"Wait, Professor, I didn't—" She took a deep breath. "I'm sorry for that. I'm just… I've been a little high strung the last few weeks. I understand if you're worried about favoritism, but would you at least consider it?"

"Very well," Harry lied. He didn't want to make her hate him, but he was still hesitant about getting close to her. "I'll think on it."

"Thanks, Professor," Evelyn said with a smile, before walking out into the main corridor and joining the throngs of students flooding to the Great Hall. Harry took a deep breath, then followed.

* * *

Dinner was a blur that night. Every student ate as fast as they could, hoping to get the selection started sooner. Little did they know, the Goblet of Fire was designed to deliberate for exactly forty-eight hours after being lit, so nothing they did would speed it up.

"I haven't seen the students this excited for a long time," Lily said as they watched the students talk amongst themselves. "Got any thoughts on the champions?"

"Hmmm. Not really," Harry responded. "I haven't been around long enough to get a good read on them."

"My bet's on Cedric Diggory," Bathsheda cut in from his other side.

"I could see that," Lily mused. "Minerva did say he was quite impressive in his OWLs."

"Ladies and gentlemen," Dumbledore said, his voice ringing out across the hall, "unless I'm mistaken, I believe that our champions are about to be chosen." Indeed, the blue flames in the goblet were jumping now, flaring up in various colors and leaping higher and higher. There was a palpable silence, and every eye in the crowd was focused on the flames. With a roar, a jet of red flames launched skywards, propelling a tiny scrap of paper along with it. Dumbledore snatched it from the air with surprising dexterity.

"The champion for Durmstrang," the headmaster announced, "is Viktor Krum!"

The Quidditch star's cohort leaped to their feet, roaring their approval. Much of the other students followed soon after, eager to be a part of the celebrity's next story. Krum moved calmly to the front of the room, shook hands firmly with Dumbledore, then followed his gesture and entered the antechamber next to the head table.

Another tongue of flames leaped into the air, carrying a pink piece of parchment. Dumbledore grabbed it. "For Beauxbatons, the champion is Fleur Delacour!"

The majority of the males in the room stood and cheered loudly, drowning out the rather half-hearted applause from the other French students. The Veela girl gracefully moved to the front of the room before joining her fellow champion.

A third burst of flames launched another piece of paper into the air which Dumbledore again caught. "And finally, the Hogwarts champion," he said, unfolding the parchment, "is Evelyn Potter!"

There was a brief moment of silence, then the red and gold table erupted. Several of the more exuberant students even threw some of the platters into the air, which Dumbledore caught nearly instantly with a wave of his wand. Evelyn, most of the way down the table, shakily got to her feet and made her way towards the front. Lily looked like she wanted to leap to her feet and argue with the headmaster, but she somehow managed to maintain a semblance of calm.

Evelyn finally made it to the headmaster, who shook her hand and gestured for her to move to the antechamber. Lily took this moment to calmly stand and follow her daughter. The cheering from the Gryffindors continued, far longer than it had for any previous champion. Even Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff seemed moderately pleased, though Slytherin was predictably sullen.

Dumbledore waved his hands to the crowd. "Our champions have been chosen! I'm sure each and every one of you will give your full support to all of the champions as they strive to complete the tasks now ahead of them." Harry groaned as the headmaster spoke, watching the goblet as the flames within began to swirl and leap once more. "Now, myself and the other judges must give the champions their instructions for—"

"Albus!" Karkaroff's voice cut in. Dumbledore turned, confusion in his eyes for only an instant before the goblet came into his view. He watched, helplessly, as a fourth scrap of paper was ejected from the goblet. The old wizard's hand snatched it from the air and quickly unfolded it, his eyes scanning the words on the paper several times.

"Neville Longbottom." The headmaster had no joviality in his voice, not an ounce of the humor that had been so pervasive a moment ago. He glanced again at the Gryffindor table. "Neville Longbottom," he said again, "please join the other champions in the antechamber." Harry watched, this time from an outsider's perspective, as the Boy-Who-Lived walked to the front of the room, pausing for a moment in front of the headmaster. The expression on his face was one of surprise, but not fear. This Neville was much more confident than Harry had been in this situation.

* * *

The students in the hall left soon after the headmaster and the other judges moved into the antechamber. Harry could already hear several different theories about what happened drifting about the room, one of which implied that Neville had somehow used time travel to get his name chosen. A few minutes later, James Potter had burst through the doors and rushed directly into the antechamber. Soon after, Augusta Longbottom did the same thing. Harry and the other professors were waiting at the head table for Dumbledore to address them.

"This is quite the development," Septima was saying to Bathsheda. "Of all the outcomes I would've thought possible, this was certainly not one of them."

"How could anyone see this coming?" Bathsheda responded. "I can't believe this happened. I feel so badly for Mrs. Longbottom."

"So do I," Septima replied. "It's just—"

"Nic?" Dumbledore's voice called from the door to the antechamber. "Could you come here for a moment, please?"

Harry stood slowly, exchanging a confused look with Bathsheda as he did so. She looked just as nonplussed as he felt. Shrugging back, Harry turned and walked in as Dumbledore held the door for him.

"What do you need, Headmaster?" he asked as they walked down the short hallway.

"It's Albus. I thought we'd been over this?" Dumbledore said, just a hint of humor in his voice. "Not to worry, it'll be clear in a moment." The two men entered the chamber proper and were greeted by a complete and unnerving silence. Harry glanced around and saw a familiar situation.

Fleur was standing near the hearth, Maxime flanking her. Both were glaring lightly at Dumbledore, but their gaze was nothing like Karkaroff's. The former Death Eater looked as if he were imagining what it would be like if he were to rip off Dumbledore's beard and rub salt in the wound. Krum seemed mostly neutral, but that was likely just his reaction to most events. He was a celebrity, after all.

"Alright, it would seem that we have everyone we need," Dumbledore said genially. "Mr. Weasley, if you would?"

"Very well," Percy said. "You have all been selected as champion for your school, and you've all chosen your advisors. Both you and your advisors will be entirely removed from any information about the tasks that has not been either disclosed to you by myself or has been made public knowledge. If it becomes evident that you or your advisor had previous knowledge, you will receive an immediate reduction in points for that task, with the penalty agreed upon by the judges' panel." He pulled several pieces of parchment from his briefcase.

"These," he explained, "are magical agreements that every champion, judge, and advisor will be required to sign. They will notify my department of any breaches of contract, and any punitive measures will be determined if necessary." He passed each champion two sheets and gave another to each of the judges. "Information on the first task will be given once we have received signatures from everyone. That will be all." Percy snapped his case shut and promptly left the room.

"Thank you, everyone," Bagman said happily. "I'm sure this will be quite the tournament, and I look forward to seeing you all at the first task!" he followed Percy out, a clear bounce in his step.

"Come, Viktor," Karkaroff said to his charge. "It's about time we got out of here." Maxime and Fleur soon followed suit.

Harry cast a glance at Dumbledore, who steadfastly refused to look at him. "Mr. Longbottom, perhaps you and your grandmother would like to speak with me? Minerva, Severus, please join us," the headmaster said, gesturing for them to follow him out of the room. Harry stood awkwardly against the wall as the group passed him on their way out.

"Mr. Blackwood," James began, but Lily cut him off.

"Nic, Evelyn has decided that she would like for you to be her advisor for the tournament," Lily explained in a hurry.

"I'm sorry, her what?" Harry was completely confused at this point. When he was in this situation, there were no advisors, no magical agreements, none of this.

"Her advisor," James answered. "You'd essentially be there to give her advice, help her to train for whatever the tasks are, stuff like that." He glanced at his daughter. "I'd have done it myself, but it has to be a Hogwarts faculty member. Not to mention, it seems that we told our daughter a bit too much about your fight in Hogsmeade."

Harry fixed his gaze on Evelyn. She looked scared, but also determined. She met Harry's gaze unflinchingly. Harry knew that look.

"There are still many other professors here that would've been excellent choices. Minerva, Filius, your mother, to name just a few," Harry argued. "You've known them a lot longer than you've known me."

"Yeah, but they don't teach defense," Evelyn said. "From what I've read about the tournament, most of the tasks involve combat of some sort, so you're kind of the obvious choice."

Lily sighed. "I know this is a surprise, Nic, but we would really appreciate this. I'm… we're not especially pleased that she's involved, but I've seen you in action. If there's anything you could do…" she trailed off, worry clear on her face.

Harry was very conflicted. He was still of the opinion that he needed to maintain his distance to protect both his new identity and the people he wanted to keep safe.

"Can I take a day to think about it?" Harry asked. He was having a difficult time keeping his composure and could feel his heart rate increasing. "I promise I'll have an answer by dinner tomorrow."

"That would be fine, Nic," Lily responded with a slight smile. "Thank you."

Harry smiled, but it didn't quite reach his eyes, and he knew it. He turned and walked quickly to the door and was halfway to the doors of the Great Hall before anyone noticed him.

"Nic?" a voice called out, but Harry wasn't listening. He could feel the walls closing in on him, he needed to get outside. A flick of his hand summoned his broom from his apartments, and another flick threw the main doors of the castle open. He reached his hand out to his side, where it closed around the handle of his broomstick. He threw his leg over it and launched into the sky.

* * *

"Are you sure about this, Eve?" Lily asked for the thousandth time that night as the family sat in her apartment. "Filius might be a safer option. You know he was a dueling champion when he was younger, right?"

"Mom, please," Evelyn groaned. "We've been over this a million times. I've made my decision."

"I know, honey, but—"

"She's right, Lils," James cut her off. "This is her decision, and if she's certain, then we have to support her." He looked at Evelyn. "Though I think we do need to discuss another decision you made."

"Do we have to do this right now?" she complained, tilting her head back to stare at the ceiling.

"It's going to happen eventually. Better to just get it over with," James said gently, sitting down on the armchair next to her. "Why did you submit your name?"

Evelyn shifted in her seat, refusing to make eye contact with her parents. "I—I heard you guys talking about the imposter… after I left," she admitted.

Lily sighed, looking at James. "What exactly did you hear?"

"Just that it looked like he was trying to enter a student in the tournament," Evelyn said, "and that I was one of them."

"So why did you put your name in?" Lily asked, her voice quiet. Evelyn thought she sounded close to tears.

"…because it felt like you guys didn't believe in me," Evelyn whispered back. "I just… I wanted you to be proud of me, to believe in me." She dropped her head into her hands. "You thought I was weak."

James moved from the armchair to the couch, wrapping an arm around Evelyn. "It wasn't that," he said softly. "We were just worried about you. Still are," he admitted, "and that's never going to change, even when you're fifty. And maybe you're right, maybe we should've told you. But you're always going to be our daughter, even when you don't want to be."

"And anyways," Lily said from her other side, "we might not be super happy that you're in the tournament, but you're crazy if you think we're not going to cheer you on every step of the way."

"Thanks, mom," Evelyn said, a smile creeping onto her face despite her best efforts.

* * *

 **Author's Note: Sorry again for my ridiculous update schedule. Since I can't promise that I won't get distracted and stop updating for a long time, I figure I might as well bust out as many chapters as I can while I'm thinking about it. Anyways, I hope you enjoy the chapter!**

 **Edit, 4/10/19: Grammar fixes.**

 **Edit, 11/8/19: Changed Harry's name.**


	11. The Unforgivables

_February 24_ _th_ _, 2000_

 _Harry slumped into the bed that Susan had guided him to. As she'd explained to him, Bones Manor had become the de facto base of what they called the resistance. Amelia had initially been content to work behind the scenes, trying to bring down the corrupt regime from the inside. However, Susan had nearly been killed in a Death Eater raid two years ago, and Amelia was done playing nice. She'd vanished from the public eye that night, along with four of the Death Eaters that had been involved in the attack and been branded a traitor and terrorist soon after._

 _He'd managed to keep his façade up while he was speaking to Madam Bones, but it was starting to crack. Less than twelve hours earlier, Harry had taken his first lives. He hadn't seen two of them, but the expression on the last man's face as blood dripped from his head would be burned into his psyche for the rest of his life. Logically, he knew that he was in the right. Those men would have killed the old man without a second's thought, and he was protecting the innocent. And yet, he couldn't get those images out of his head._

 _Harry could feel his pulse racing through his veins, and his breath was starting to come in sharp gasps. He was a_ killer _. He had become the very thing he was fighting against. How could he possibly claim to be fighting for the good when he sunk to the same levels as his opponents? How—_

" _Harry?" Hermione's voice cut in. "Can we—" She cut herself off as she saw the state he was in. "Harry, what's wrong?" she asked gently, sitting next to him on the bed and wrapping an arm around his back. "Come on, talk to me."_

" _I—I killed them, Hermione," he choked out, his breath shallow and rapid. "I killed them. Horribly." Their faces flashed through his mind's eye once more. One, with a metal stake through the center of his chest. The second, face pale as his organs shut down under the influence of the snake's venom. The third, a bloody furrow across his temple, eyes wide. "I could've knocked them out, I could've bound them, but—" he stopped, his eyes shut tight, tears leaking from the corners._

" _Shhh," Hermione whispered. "It's alright, Harry. Just breathe."_

" _How can you stand to be around me?" Harry asked, his voice weak. "I'm a murderer. I'm just like them—"_

" _You are nothing like them, Harry James Potter," Hermione said in a firm voice. "They kill for sport, for pleasure, for personal gain. You stopped them from doing something evil, Harry."_

" _But I could've—"_

" _What could've happened? You could've died. They could've gotten past you and killed that man. We could've run out the back, and it wouldn't have been our problem. The point is, Harry, that you stopped them from doing something horrible." She tilted his head, so he looked into her eyes. "You are a good man, Harry."_

* * *

Even now, Harry struggled with these thoughts. As he raced through the air, darting between the stands and the goal posts of the Quidditch stadium, he did his best to allow his thoughts to be chased out by the wind blowing through his hair, but it didn't help as much as it used to. He knew that running out of the meeting like that was rude and wouldn't do him any favors in the long run, but he knew something worse would've happened if he'd stayed.

Even after joining the resistance, he'd had a hard time working with other people. His experiences in Hogwarts and in his first year on the run had taught him that anyone who worked with him ended up either maimed or dead. His parents, Sirius, Ron, Moody… Everyone who got close to him died at some point. Hermione had just managed to beat the odds.

The main reason Harry didn't want to work with Evelyn was because he feared that she would be killed simply for associating with him. Not only that, but if he worked with her, he would inevitably get closer to his—not his, her, parents. After that, it would only be a matter of time before they were killed to. Especially this year, the year that Voldemort would likely return to life. Harry sighed, slowing his pace. He began drifting through the towers of Hogwarts at a more sedate pace, letting his mind go blank.

" _What are we doing out here?_ " Saphira hissed from under his robes. " _It's freezing out here. Let's go back inside._ "

" _Soon, Saphira,_ " Harry responded. " _I just need a bit of fresh air?_ "

" _What happened in there?_ " she asked. " _I can't keep track of people talking that fast yet._ "

" _One of the students wants me to be their advisor in the tournament,_ " Harry explained.

" _Why is that such a big deal?_ " she asked in confusion.

" _You know, I think it's about time I told you some things._ "

* * *

It took nearly thirty minutes, but Harry had finally managed to explain the basics of his story to Saphira. She had stayed mostly silent for the entire time, soaking in the information as fast as she could.

" _So basically, I'm worried that if I help her, it'll just make things worse,_ " Harry finished.

" _That's stupid._ "

" _Sorry?_ " Harry asked, certain that he'd misheard her.

" _Are you deaf? I said, 'that's stupid.'_ "

" _Care to explain why?_ " Harry asked, a little peeved now.

" _In what world would it be better for her to be defenseless?_ " Saphira asked. " _You already told me that nobody knows who you are here, so as far as anyone is concerned, you're just a teacher doing your job._ "

" _Yeah, but—_ "

" _Get your head out of your ass, Harry,_ " she cut him off. " _Just do your job, I'm sure it'll be fine._ "

Harry sighed. " _You're probably right,_ " he said as he began drifting towards the courtyard. " _I'll let them know tomorrow._ "

" _Good. Now can we please get inside? My scales are getting itchy._ "

* * *

Harry arrived at breakfast a little late the next morning, deciding to get some extra sleep. By the time he walked into the Great Hall, many of the students had already finished eating, so Harry snagged a few pieces of toast and bacon from a platter before it disappeared.

"Nic?" Lily spoke from his side, "have you thought any more about last night?"

"Actually, yeah," he answered. "I'm sorry I didn't answer then, I was just caught a little off guard. But I would be honored to be your daughter's advisor for the tournament."

Lily beamed. "Thank you so much, Nic," she said. "Should I have her bring the forms to you after dinner tonight?"

"Do you think it could wait until the weekend?" he asked. "I'm in the middle of working with Albus on a special class. It should be all sorted by Saturday."

"Sure," Lily said with a smile. "And thanks again, I know you didn't sign up for any of this." Harry just smiled back. He wasn't too happy about it, but Saphira had convinced him that he couldn't just leave her to her own devices.

"Nic?" Dumbledore broke in, walking towards his chair. "I just wanted to let you know, I spoke with some people at the Ministry regarding your lesson plan, and they decided they want to speak to you in person. I said you would be able to cancel classes and come in today, is that acceptable?"

"Of course, Albus," Harry responded, hoping the Ministry would be amenable to his request.

"Excellent," he said with a smile. "I'll announce it to the students, and we can be on our way."

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, Dumbledore and Harry were walking down to the front gates of Hogwarts. He'd announced the cancellation of Defense for the day (much to the pleasure of the younger students) and pulled a worn phone book from a pocket that was much too small. Apparently, it was a Portkey given to him by Madam Bones, so they could come directly to her office.

"I spoke to Cornelius, and he was happy enough to make it Amelia's decision, so it's her you'll have to convince," Dumbledore explained as they walked. "I told her a little about your idea, but she said she wanted to speak to you since you'll be the one leading the class."

Harry nodded. "Fair enough. What do you think my chances are?"

"To be honest, pretty good," Dumbledore admitted. "She's a no-nonsense kind of person, but I think if you tell her what you told me, you'll be in pretty good shape. Not to mention, you're the reason we know who the imposter was. That's sure to be a point in your favor."

Harry nodded. While he'd spent a fair amount of time with Madam Bones in the resistance, he had never really gotten close to her. He did know, however, that she was very fair and had very strong opinions regarding education. Then again, the Madam Bones he knew had been running a war for nearly two years, so he would have to wait and see how much that had changed her.

"Alright, hands on," Dumbledore said, extending the book to him.

A few seconds and a violent feeling of nausea later, the two men were standing in a small room occupied with a table and two chairs.

"It seems we've landed in the interrogation room," Dumbledore said with a hint of amusement. "Come on, let's head to her office." He pushed open the heavy wooden door, and they came out in a large room filled with cubicles. Paper airplanes were drifting here and there, along with quite a few Aurors. Surprisingly to Harry, it seemed there were a significant number of foreign officers there as well. Dumbledore caught his gaze.

"All three ministries are taking security for the tournament very seriously," the headmaster explained. "Their Aurors are mostly here to monitor anyone coming into the country, while ours are handling the actual physical security for each task." Harry hummed, curious if this had been in place last time. Dumbledore approached a slightly more ornate door and placed a few firm knocks on it.

"Come in," Madam Bones' voice called out.

Harry felt nearly at home when he entered her office. It reminded him so strongly of her study in Bones Manor that he almost forgot where he was. From the bookshelves lining the walls, perfectly organized, to the small Bonsai tree growing near the fake window, it was nearly a carbon copy.

Behind the desk sat Amelia Bones. She was currently reviewing a document of some sort, monocle firmly set in front of her left eye. She lifted a single finger when they walked in, then gestured to the two seats placed in front of her desk. The two men sat, neither daring to speak before she was ready. She perused the document for a few more minutes, before signing it and placing it facedown on the side of her desk, then removed her monocle and faced Harry.

"So," she began, "you're the one who wants to cast Unforgivables on underage students." Harry chose not to reply since he hadn't been asked a question. "Why don't you give me a reason why I shouldn't arrest you?"

"I would think that, since I haven't actually committed a crime, you wouldn't do that," Harry answered, "but I'm sure that's not exactly what you meant. I want to educate them."

"And why would you need to cast Unforgivables on them to educate them?" she asked, not giving an inch.

"Because you know as well as I do that none of them understand what they really mean," he responded, refusing to look away from her gaze. "They know they're bad spells, but they don't know how horrifying their effects really are, how they can tear families, even countries apart." Harry paused, mainly for dramatic effect. "If we want the next generation to avoid the mistakes of the last one, they need to know."

"That was quite the speech," Madam Bones said, a small smirk on her lips. "How many times did you rehearse that?"

"Only two," Harry replied with a smile, not skipping a beat.

"Alright, let me tell you my thoughts," she said. "First of all, _if_ this is going to happen, you will have myself, the headmaster, and all four heads of house in the room at all times. If the foreign delegations agree to it, their heads will be there as well." Harry nodded, in full agreement with her conditions. "We'll notify all of the parents, and nobody will be allowed to participate without a signed consent form unless they're over the age of majority, though I will do my best to make it clear that the Ministry believes it is an important aspect of their education. Do you have any problems with that?"

"Not at all, Madam Bones," Harry replied, now being respectful, understanding that she was going out on a limb for this.

She inspected him for a few more seconds, then nodded. "Very well. We'll send out permission forms this afternoon, and the classes will take place on Friday. Any questions?"

"No, ma'am," Harry answered.

"Wonderful!" Dumbledore exclaimed. "I'm so glad we were able to come to an agreement."

"Yes, Albus, as am I," Madam Bones replied, "however, I'm afraid I have a lot of work to do."

"Of course, Amelia," Dumbledore replied. "We'll get out of your hair. Thank you, again, for your time."

* * *

That Friday came much faster than Harry was expecting. The foreign students had ended up not joining the classes on Wednesday, choosing to wait until his lecture on the Unforgivables so the parents could make their decisions. Harry hardly ate anything for breakfast, and the notices Dumbledore gave regarding the cancellation of the heads of houses' classes went completely unnoticed. Harry left soon after this, moving to the dueling room to get it set up for the larger crowd he was expecting.

Saphira flew to her tree in the corner of the room before assuming Salazar's form. Absentmindedly, Harry noted that he would have to find him soon. Saphira clearly missed her friend.

Harry waved a hand, and the study tables were moved to the far walls, and he then expanded the stadium seating to accommodate the extra students and teachers. He finished by activating the dueling wards around the platform, ensuring no stray spells would strike the audience, even though he didn't anticipate this being an issue. He turned as the door opened behind him.

Amelia Bones strode into the room, glancing around to take it in as she did so. "Quite the setup you've got here," she said, nodding approvingly. "What kind of safety precautions do you have?"

"Full warding around the main platform as well as the pits, and specialized wards around the seating for any real duels," Harry responded. "You're welcome to inspect them, if you'd like."

"That's alright, Mr. Blackwood," she replied. "I'm sure they're up to scratch, but they shouldn't be necessary today."

"They shouldn't, but you never know," a gruff voice said from the door. "You really shouldn't trust that, Amy." Harry turned, and nearly stumbled. Standing in the doorway, peg leg and all. "I heard he did the wards himself, so how do we know they're any good?"

Madam Bones rolled her eyes. "Mr. Blackwood, say hello to Alastor Moody, your… predecessor," she said with a wry smile, since they all knew the truth. "Alastor, play nice."

"Sure, sure," Moody said. "Why do you think you're qualified for this?" he demanded.

"Mainly my Master's certification in Defense," Harry said calmly. "That, and I haven't been captured recently." Madam Bones snorted at this, while Moody just grumbled.

"You make one mistake, and you never hear the end of it," he complained. "I suppose I'd better say thanks for that."

Harry shrugged. "For all I knew, it was you all along," he said. He was saved from any more of Moody's subtle interrogations by the door opening once more.

"Are you ready for us, Professor Blackwood?" Dumbledore asked from the doorway. Harry just nodded. Dumbledore stepped in, and the room was immediately flooded with people. Most of them were Hogwarts students, from fourth to seventh year, but the many of the students from Durmstrang and Beauxbatons were there as well, along with Maxime and Karkaroff.

"How many of their parents said no?" Harry asked the headmaster as they waited for the crowd to get settled in their seats.

"Just a few," he responded. "Do you want to greet them, or shall I?"

"It's all yours, Headmaster," Harry said. "I'll go see if Hagrid is almost here," he continued, referring to their unfortunate subject for the day. As Dumbledore started to speak, Harry moved to the door and looked into the hallway.

"Welcome, everyone, to what we hope will be an extremely educational class," Dumbledore said to the crowd assembled before him. "In a few moments, we will begin, but I would like to reiterate a few things first. The most important thing is that participation, even your presence here, is not mandatory. If you want to leave now, or if you decide to later, that is your prerogative and it will not harm your grade in any way." He turned to the door and watched as Harry held it open for Hagrid, who was carrying in a large tank of water. Inside was a particularly ugly grindylow that remained motionless as Hagrid set it gently on the dueling platform beside Dumbledore.

"If you haven't already heard, this class will be covering the Unforgivable Curses," Dumbledore said gravely. "Some of what you will see today will undoubtedly be disturbing, but I assure you, we have done our best to make our demonstration as humane as possible." He gestured to the grindylow. "This grindylow was rescued by Professor Hagrid several weeks ago from the lakeshore. After some tests, we have determined that this particular specimen is entirely brain dead, due to some unknown trauma it experienced in the lake. As such, while it may react as one would expect to the curses we will be demonstrating, I assure you, it is feeling no pain." At this, he stepped back, and Harry stepped forwards.

"I requested that the headmaster and the Ministry arrange this special class because I feel that it is important for our students to understand the effect that these spells can have on individuals, and on society as a whole," Harry began. "Your parents and grandparents grew up in times that were heavily influenced by these spells, and as such, they understand exactly why these spells are known as unforgivable." He began walking back and forth in front of the crowd slowly as he spoke. "However, all of you are too young to really remember when these spells were used to undermine our society. _That_ is why I'll be demonstrating them to you today."

The students looked suitably subdued after he finished speaking. He remained there, silent and unspeaking, for a few more seconds before nodding. "If there are no questions at this time, we'll begin." He nodded to the adults gathered on the dueling platform, and they moved towards their seats. "We'll start with what seems like the most innocuous spell, but in fact can be one of the most dangerous. The Imperious Curse."

He turned to the grindylow and raised his wand. Summoning his desire to have control over his own life, he said " _Imperio,_ " in a voice that carried through the room. The creature twitched for a moment, before coming to life. It swam slowly around its tank before it moved to the center. Its beady eyes gazed dully into the room, then it began spinning. At first it seemed to just be spinning faster and faster, but eventually it became clear that it was pirouetting. A few giggles spread through the watching students as the motions become more exaggerated and ridiculous.

"Yes, I know this looks funny now, but what about this?" Harry said as he braced himself for what he was about to do. The grindylow grasped the edges of the tank with several tentacles, then lifted itself until its head was out of the water. It started making choking sounds as its gills left the water, but it still held itself up. There was no more laughter. "Remember," Harry said darkly, "if you fail to fight off the Imperious Curse, the caster can make you do _anything_." He cut the spell, allowing the creature to fall back into the water.

"This spell," Harry continued, "was responsible for perhaps more pain and suffering than either of the other Unforgivables. Under its influence, children could be forced to attack their families, or your best friend could become a spy against you. It is no laughing matter." The students were rather somber now, finally realizing that this class wasn't going to be particularly entertaining. Harry took a few moments to calm his mind, allowing the lesson to sink in.

"Alright," he finally said, "the second of the Unforgivables is the Cruciatus Curse. It has one purpose, and one purpose only: to cause pain to the victim." Moving quickly so he wouldn't lose his nerve, Harry summoned the hatred he felt for Voldemort and cast. " _Crucio._ " The grindylow began to twitch, its tentacles contorting while its beady eyes widened and flickered around for an escape. A quiet scream could be heard emanating from the tank. Harry cut the curse, his breathing a little ragged. The audience was dead silent, many of the students looking a little green.

"This is, perhaps, the most terrifying of the Unforgivables," Harry lectured. "It's effects are the worst to watch, and undoubtedly is the most painful thing you can experience. The Cruciatus works by inflicting your own memories of pain upon you, multiplied several times, so there is no chance of just shrugging it off. With enough focus, however, it is possible to use your wand to break the line of sight between caster and victim, which will stop the spell." He observed the students as they hung on his every word.

"There's only one left, then," Harry said, his face grim. "The Killing Curse. Just like the other Unforgivables, there is no magical defense against it. Physical barriers, if strong enough, can block them, but will sustain heavy damage." Harry turned to the grindylow's tank, closing his eyes for a moment. He flicked his wand and vanished the glass while keeping the water in place. The creature remained motionless, eyes dead and sightless.

Harry took a deep breath, searching inside himself to find the desire to cast this spell. He thought back to all of his friends that had died, all of the innocents that had been caught up in Voldemort's rise to power. Not a single day passed without Harry wishing that he could take their place. He pulled this desire to trade his life for theirs into the forefront of his mind, then opened his eyes. In a smooth motion, he raised his wand and cast. " _Avada Kedavra._ "

A rushing sound filled the ears of everyone in the room as the green light launched from Harry's wand. As if in slow motion, the light traveled the short distance between the man and the creature before striking its chest. The grindylow was enveloped by the green light for an instant, before it faded. The animal was motionless now, eyes wide open and tentacles drifting in the water. None of the students spoke a word, still shocked at what they'd seen.

"This spell is, obviously, the most dangerous of the three," Harry said quietly, his voice carrying easily through the heavy silence. "If you're hit, there are no second chances. It only takes a touch." Dumbledore stood after a few seconds, vanishing the grindylow and the water from the stage as he did so.

"I know this is a very heavy topic, especially for children," he began, "but you cannot learn to defend against what you do not know. To ensure you fully understand, we will now begin some further demonstrations. I cannot stress this enough, participation in this is completely optional. Now, fourth-years will join Professor Blackwood at the far end of the dueling pits, fifth-years with Madam Bones, sixth with Alastor, and seventh-years and our foreign guests will be with myself, Madame Maxime, and Igor." The students stood and began moving to where Dumbledore had indicated while the heads of each of the houses wandered from group to group. Harry moved to the corner where Saphira was lounging and stroked her head a few times as the students assembled.

"Before we start," Harry began, "I'm going to repeat what Professor Dumbledore said: this is optional. It won't affect your grades, and I certainly won't think any less of you. Now, the plan for this portion of the lesson is to allow you to experience the Imperious Curse in a safe environment. This is the only Unforgivable that can be completely ignored if you know exactly what you're doing." The majority of the students looked terrified at this prospect, though they were all trying to hide it to save face in front of their cohort. "Would anyone like to volunteer?" There was a long, awkward pause as the students avoided each other's gaze, before a voice spoke up.

"I'll try," Susan Bones spoke up. Harry smiled at her and gestured for her to step forward.

"Don't worry," Harry said. "Just try to ignore my commands, alright?" he instructed, before raising his wand and again pulling his desire for control to the front of his mind. " _Imperio._ "

Susan's eyes glazed over, though her brows remained furrowed. _I want you to skip back and forth in front of the class,_ Harry commanded, intentionally not bringing the full brunt of his will to bear. She turned parallel to the group of students, then took a halting step forwards before stopping. Harry pushed just a little harder, and she began skipping in jerky motions across the floor. As she moved, Harry could feel her resisting more and more as she grew accustomed to how she needed to fight against his will. He let her fight for a few more seconds before releasing the spell.

"That was quite good," he praised as she regained her bearings. "This is by no means an easy task, and the fact that you resisted at all is very impressive." He turned to the rest of the class. "I don't expect many of you to be able to do that well," Harry said. "Most adult wizards can't throw this spell off, or even resist it as well as Ms. Bones just demonstrated. Now, does anyone else want to try?" The next hour or so was spent slowly moving through the assembled students, allowing each a fair chance to attempt to throw it off.

"Alright!" Dumbledore yelled into the room, "it's just about time for lunch. We'll break for two hours, and then regroup back here at one o'clock."

* * *

Harry chose to spend lunch in the classroom, away from the crowded Great Hall. He hated using any of the Unforgivables and using them repeatedly was very draining for him. He asked a Hogwarts house-elf to bring him a few sandwiches while he passed the time talking with Saphira. All too soon, though, students began returning to the room, their spirits back to normal after a break from the heavy atmosphere.

"Okay, okay, who wants to give it a shot?" Harry called over the voices of the students. "Let's go, come on."

"I'll try, Professor," Evelyn said as she broke off her conversation with Hermione. Harry just gestured to the front of the group.

" _Imperio,_ " he incanted, watching as her eyes glazed over. _Start waltzing on your own,_ Harry thought, pushing his will onto Evelyn's. She shifted her weight forward, and her arms began lifting as if to grab her dancing partner. She froze, though, and Harry could feel her fighting against his will. He increased the pressure on her mind, and she jerkily moved through the motions of a waltz. Before Harry could react, though, she froze completely, and Harry felt his spell collapse. Evelyn was panting, hands on her knees.

"Well done!" Harry exclaimed. He knew he should've expected something like this after his own experience with this, but he was still rather impressed. "That is quite the feat, Ms. Potter. Keep in mind this doesn't mean the Imperious will never be a problem for you, but well done indeed." She smiled weakly, still recovering from the strange experience. "Who wants to go next?"

* * *

It took nearly an hour and a half to work through the remaining fourth-years, and Harry was relieved when Dumbledore finally dismissed the students. There were only a few notable performances, namely Neville, Daphne, and Padma Patil. None of them had managed to throw it off entirely, but they'd done at least as well as Susan had. Evelyn had appeared as though she'd wanted to speak to him, but the other adults in the room hadn't left, so she followed Hermione out. Harry retrieved Saphira from the tree, then joined the others.

"Well," Madam Bones started, "that went pretty well. Much better than I was expecting, to be honest."

"Thank you for the vote of confidence, Madam Bones," Harry said wryly.

"Don't take it personally, Mr. Blackwood. And you can call me Amelia when I'm not acting in my official capacity."

"Call me Nic, then," Harry responded with a smile. "How did the upper years do?"

"None of the fifth years managed to throw it off entirely, though a few resisted pretty well," Amelia responded. "I must say, I was pretty impressed."

"A few sixth-years managed to not obey me, but only one of them managed to throw it off," Moody grunted. "Diggory, I think. The others just stood there like statues." Harry knew he was impressed, too, but he would never say so aloud.

"And the seventh-years?" Harry asked, looking to Dumbledore.

"Mr. Bole managed to break free, but otherwise they were about the same as the sixth-years," Dumbledore responded. "I did notice a few of our guests succeed, though. Mr. Krum and Ms. Delacour were among them, I believe." Harry just nodded, having expected something like this. He turned to Amelia.

"Thank you again for allowing me to do this," he said sincerely.

"It was my pleasure, Nic," she said with a smile. "I was most impressed by your lesson, I must say. Perhaps, if you ever leave Hogwarts, you could try out for the Auror Academy," she said with a smile.

"I appreciate the offer, I really do, but I'm not going to make any promises about that," he replied. The group moved towards the exit.

"Would you like to join me for some tea, Amelia, Alastor?" Dumbledore asked as they exited the room.

"Not this time, Albus," Amelia replied. "Thanks, but we both have some work to get done."

"I still can't believe I let you talk me into working again," Moody grumbled, much to the amusement of the others.

"Can't have you getting complacent," she answered. "Thank you again, Nic," she said as Dumbledore and the heads of each of the houses guided them towards the Entrance Hall. Harry sighed as they left and turned to head back to his quarters.

"Professor?" Evelyn Potter's voice rang out in the empty hall. Harry spun quickly, ready to cast a spell, but relaxing as he caught a glimpse of her invisibility cloak being shoved into her bag. She must have been waiting ever since leaving the classroom.

"What can I do for you, Ms. Potter?" he asked, though he suspected he knew what she wanted.

"My mother told me that you agreed to be my advisor, so I brought the contract," she said. Harry could tell she was less confident than the last time they had spoken, likely due to his admittedly strange reaction.

"Come on," he said, moving to the door of the regular classroom. "Let's talk."

* * *

 **Author's Note: First off, a big thanks to FictionGuy-25 for pointing out the massive plothole that is magical oaths. I still intend to use magical contracts (since they're canon and I'll introduce limitations that won't make them absolutely ridiculous), but I've gone back and made slight changes to get rid of oaths. Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter!**

 **Edit, 11/8/19: Changed Harry's name.**


	12. Improvements

Saphira glided from his shoulders as they entered the classroom, settling on his desk and reverting to her normal form. Harry held the door open for Evelyn, then followed her down the steps. She pulled a rolled piece of parchment from her book bag and placed it on his desk before sitting down. Harry, instead of sitting, picked up the parchment and read as he slowly paced the front of the classroom. Evelyn watched him carefully, as if she was worried he would change his mind again.

Harry carefully picked apart the contract he was expected to sign. He didn't know a lot about magical contracts, but he did know they could be very dangerous if one wasn't careful. Case in point, the Triwizard Tournament forced participants to compete through a magically binding contract that was not obvious at first glance. Failure to compete could lead to a complete loss of magic, and that wasn't even the worst-case scenario.

Fortunately, it seemed that this was a much less restrictive contract. After signing, he would be compelled to notify both Ludo Bagman and Percy Weasley if he had broken either of the two clauses. If anyone not officially associated with the tournament approached him with information, he would need to alert them. In a stroke of luck for him, they neglected to include prior knowledge in the clause, so he wouldn't have to tell them that he'd participated in it himself. Unfortunately, it meant that Karkaroff and Maxime would be able to slip information to their champion's advisors before they signed. Hopefully, the Ministry hadn't told them too many details, but he wouldn't be surprised if they had.

The other clause regarded interference in the tasks themselves. Any attempt to influence the actual task or the scoring of them would be considered a breach as well, and he would be compelled to report himself. He had no intention of doing either of these, so he wasn't too worried. He spent a few more minutes reading the details to make sure that he wasn't missing anything, but in a shocking show of competency, the Ministry's contracts seemed fair and ironclad. Harry placed it down on the desk and signed it. He heard Evelyn let out a sigh as he did so, apparently relieved that he had signed.

"Thank you, Professor," she said as he passed the contract back to her to give to Bagman. "There's a meeting tomorrow to give the first instructions to the champions, and advisors are supposed to be there, too."

"When and where?" Harry asked.

"Just after breakfast, in the same room we got sent to after champion selections," she responded. Harry nodded.

"Do you have any plans for training?" Harry inquired. He would do his best to help her, but he certainly wouldn't be doing all the work. If she wanted his help, she would have to pull her own weight.

She looked surprised at his question. "Er, I was kinda expecting you to have some ideas…"

"I'm going to help you, but you're going to have to tell me what you want to work on. You know your strengths and weaknesses far better than I do, so you'll tell me what you want help with," Harry said. Evelyn looked a little lost at this. "How about you take tonight to think about it, maybe talk to your friends or parents to get their input, and tomorrow we can make a real plan, alright?"

"Okay, Professor," she responded. "Thanks again."

Harry just nodded as she stood and left the room, before tipping his chair back on the rear legs, his mind racing. Assuming her education up until now hadn't been drastically different from his own, he could at least make a few guesses at what they would need to work on.

* * *

After breakfast the next morning, Harry entered the antechamber along with the other participants and officials. Ludo was practically bouncing off the walls with excitement, fluttering about the room with a wide grin on his face. In stark contrast to this, Percy was standing near a wall without a single emotion revealing itself.

"Shall we begin?" Ludo asked once the door had closed, moving to stand next to Percy. "If you would all pass your contracts to Percy, here, he can check them over and we can get into the fun stuff!" Each of the champions stepped forwards and handed Percy their contracts along with their advisor's, followed by the judges. They all stood quietly as Percy carefully inspected the contracts, making sure they were all signed properly and not tampered with. Finally, after several minutes, Percy nodded to Ludo.

"Excellent!" he exclaimed. "Now that we have that out of the way, it's time to get to your instructions for the first task." His face grew serious as he attempted to make it more dramatic, though the expression looked foreign on his face. "The first task is meant to test your bravery in the face of the unknown. Quick-thinking, courage, and cleverness are all very important traits, and so the first task will reward those of you with those qualities."

"The task is scheduled for November twenty-fourth, and you will only have access to your wands for this task," Percy took over. "Since these tasks will be very demanding on you, none of you are required to take your end of year exams, though if you are taking NEWTs, OWLs, or the equivalent, you will still have to take them. You are also exempt from homework, though you should consider how that will affect your performances."

"Before the task, we will have the wand weighing ceremony. That'll be on Wednesday this week, at two in the afternoon. Your wands will be inspected, and there will be a small media presence to report on the results," Bagman continued. "Other than that, I think we're done for today. Does anyone have any questions?" There was an awkward silence for a few moments, then Bagman continued. "Wonderful. In that case, you're all dismissed. See you on Wednesday!"

The group dispersed slowly. Neville, who had chosen McGonagall as his advisor, was drawn into a quiet conversation with her in the corner of the room. Harry gestured for Evelyn to follow him, and the pair walked in silence towards the Defense Corridor. Upon arriving, Harry unlocked the door to the dueling room and held the door for Evelyn as she walked inside.

"So," Harry said as he walked in after her, "have you decided on what you want your training sessions to look like?"

"I've had a few thoughts," she answered, "but I have a few questions first."

"Ask away," Harry replied as he sat at one of the tables. Evelyn followed suit.

"What exactly do you know about the tournament?" she asked. "Just in general."

"You're going to have to be a bit more specific," Harry said.

"Do you know what sort of tasks I can expect?"

"Well, from my limited research into the subject, it seems that one of the tasks usually involves a single dangerous creature," Harry said. "The most recent tournament had a cockatrice the champions were supposed to capture. Normally, I'd say you probably wouldn't have to worry about that, but we all know how competent the Ministry can be."

Evelyn snorted at this. "Anything else?"

"I'll have to do a bit more research first. If I were you, I'd try to find books on the tournament in the library, and see if you can find any other patterns," Harry said. "Anyways, we can go into that more after you've looked into it. Would you tell me your thoughts on your training?"

"Well, I'm pretty decent in Transfiguration and Defense. I'm a little weak in Charms."

"What about Runes or Arithmancy?" Harry asked.

"I'm doing pretty well in both, but we're not even to our OWLs yet, so I don't know a lot. I also don't see how that would help me very much unless there was a clue in runes or something…" Evelyn trailed off.

Harry just hummed. He would have to think more on if he wanted to reveal any of his secrets about runic magic. "When do you want to have our training sessions? Obviously, I can't meet during classes, and my Sunday mornings are already reserved, but I'm open evenings and Saturdays."

"Maybe we could start with two nights per week, then maybe ramp that up as we get closer to the task?" Evelyn suggested. Harry nodded back. "And I think maybe I'd like to start with dueling if that's alright with you."

"That works for me," Harry answered. "Let's see what you've got."

"What, right now?" Evelyn asked.

"Why not? Do you have something else you need to be doing right now?" Harry replied as Saphira slid from his shoulders onto the table, where she coiled up. Evelyn shook her head, so Harry gestured for her to take her place on the main dueling platform. She drew her wand as she approached the far end of the platform and turned to face Harry who was standing on the other end, wand in his hand and relaxed at his side.

" _Stupefy!_ " she called out. " _Impedimenta! Tarantallegra!_ " The three spells hurtled down the platform towards Harry, who was slowly walking forward. He sidestepped the first two spells, then deflected the third with a careless flick of his wand. Unconsciously, Evelyn began backstepping even as she continued to cast. " _Incendio! Stupefy!_ " A gust of wind blasted the flames to either side of the platform where they dissipated, and the red bolt was absorbed by a nearly invisible green barrier.

"Is that all you've got?" Harry taunted, a smirk on his lips. It only grew when he saw anger flash across Evelyn's face.

" _Confringo!_ " Evelyn shouted, her composure slipping. " _Diffindo!_ " Harry sidestepped both spells easily.

"Are you sure you deserve to be a champion?" he teased. Evelyn audibly growled at this.

" _Reducto! Everte Statum!_ " Her voice was quieter now, with a bit of anger in her tone. Harry again deflected the spells casually.

"If you're not going to really try, you can go ahead and leave," Harry said, yawning theatrically. He could tell that she was right on the edge of a breakthrough, but she was still thinking too hard. He needed her to be casting instinctively, not consciously. "I think you'll have to find another advisor."

Evelyn's eyes narrowed even further at this. She jabbed her wand towards him over and over again, a spell flying towards him each time. Harry couldn't contain a grin at this point. He easily blocked her spells with a quick shield, then threw a stunner at her. Her eyes widened, as this was the first time he'd cast a spell at her. With a twist of her wand, a dark green shield jumped into place and absorbed it.

"Alright, alright, that's enough," Harry said, raising both hands in mock surrender. Evelyn was still breathing hard and was still angry.

"What the _hell_ was all that about?" she growled, barely resisting the urge to continue trying to curse him.

"Before you start yelling at me, just think about the last few spells you cast," Harry said, voice calm now. "Was there anything different about them? About your shield?"

She tried to ignore her frustration, instead focusing on the last few moments of the duel, if you could even call it that. He had taunted her, and she got mad, and…

"I—I cast silently?" she asked, stunned. Harry just smiled at her. "What—but—mom told me that wasn't taught until NEWT classes!"

"It's not a difficult skill to pick up once you figure out the trick to it," Harry said. "It's just the first breakthrough that's the toughest. Anyways, now that you know you can do it, I expect all of your spells to be cast silently in our sessions, unless it's a brand-new spell."

"Um, okay," Evelyn answered, still slightly in shock.

"I would also suggest hiding this ability until the task," Harry said. "Practice on your own, or perhaps with a trusted friend or two, but any advantage you can keep over the other champions can only help you."

* * *

"Mom!" Evelyn shouted as she burst into her mother's rooms. "Mom!"

"I'm right here, Eve, there's no need to shout," Lily spoke from the couch. "Are you alright? I thought you were meeting with Nic?"

"I did, I did," Evelyn replied, her voice still excited and her face flushed.

"Did something go wrong? I thought you'd be with him until lunch, but its only been an hour," Lily asked, concerned now. Had Nic decided against helping her?

"No, no, definitely not. The opposite of that, actually," Evelyn said.

"What do you mean?" Lily asked, still worried about her daughter's behavior. In response, Evelyn just drew her wand and pointed it towards the coffee table. "Eve, what are you doing?"

Evelyn narrowed her eyes slightly, before flicking her wand at the table. Shakily and slowly, it lifted from the ground and hovered before Lily's eyes. Her jaw dropped. Evelyn's hand began shaking, and she could tell that she was starting to lose control of the spell, so she quickly lowered it back to the floor.

Lily was at a loss for words. "You—how—you didn't—"

"He showed me how to cast silently!" Evelyn burst out, beyond excited now. "I didn't even realize it at first, but—"

"How did he manage that?" Lily cut her off. "That's a NEWT skill, and he showed you how to do it in less than an hour? That shouldn't be possible!"

"I don't even know, but it makes sense now," Evelyn answered, a grin splitting her face at her mother's dumbstruck expression. "Still think I made the wrong choice?" Lily just shook her head, unable to say anything. "Anyways, I'm gonna go practice this. He said he wants me to only cast silently from now on, so I'd better get started."

Lily couldn't do anything but nod at her daughter's words, still lost in thought.

* * *

Harry skipped breakfast the next morning, instead electing to prepare for his next meeting with Astoria. After their first session, Harry dived into his research with renewed vigor, but he still came up empty. Somehow, this curse was a completely undocumented one. He found several that were somewhat similar, but none fully matched his observations.

Eventually, he came to the conclusion that he would have to design a custom ritual to fix the issue with her core. For whatever reason, the strands of magic that powered her spells would disconnect at random, which inevitably caused the spell to collapse. Somehow, he would have to coax her magic to behave the way it should instead of fighting her at every turn. After Evelyn had left after their mock duel, Harry had started the arduous process of designing a custom ritual, but he knew it would take quite a while to finish, not to mention the inevitable corrections and troubleshooting he'd have to go through.

Fortunately, Aldous Nott's book had given him an idea that should, at the very least, temporarily relieve some of the more obvious symptoms. One of Nott's rituals, which was originally designed to repair one's magical conduits after serious trauma, was relatively simple to modify to suit his and Astoria's needs. He'd arrived in the dueling room early that morning and begun inscribing runes in the corner in concentric circles.

A knock on the door nearly caused him to make a mistake in the outer ring, but he managed to complete the chain before he stood and moved to the door. A quick wave of his hand lowered the ward keeping it closed before he opened the door to let Astoria in.

"How are you feeling this morning, Ms. Greengrass?" he asked as he quickly raised the ward again. There couldn't afford to be any interruptions, especially during the ritual itself.

"I'm doing well, Professor—er, Nic," Astoria replied.

"Good, good. Have you continued with the exercises?" he inquired. "We've got something a little different for today, but I'd still like to check your progress.

"I have," she answered. "I haven't made any more progress with _Lumos_ , but I've been working on the next set, with the switching spell."

"Alright, would you mind demonstrating for me?" Harry asked, conjuring three quills on one of the nearby tables, each a different style and easily distinguishable. Astoria stepped forward, brow furrowing in concentration. " _Conjugata,_ " she said firmly, flicking her wand between two of the feathers. In an instant, they traded locations. She continued, switching the feathers faster as she went, until she suddenly stopped. She took a deep breath with her eyes closed, then waved her wand across all three feathers. " _Conjugata,_ " she said, nearly whispering. All three feathers changed positions.

"Excellent," Harry praised. Multiple switches were not easy, and usually not taught until fourth year, but despite her challenges, she had remarkable control for her age. While she cast, Harry had been observing how her magic was behaving. It seemed that she didn't have as many problems with spells that she didn't have to maintain.

Astoria was breathing a little harder, but she was recovering quickly. "What else are we doing today?"

"I'm hoping today we can take a first step to improve your situation," Harry said. "I designed a small ritual that should at least alleviate some of your problems."

"A ritual?" she asked, clearly nervous. The word ritual had a poor connotation in magical Britain, since they were mainly considered to be a branch of dark magic.

"It's not the kind you're thinking," Harry quickly explained. "Rituals are, at their most basic level, an exchange. If you want to be technical about it, even spells are rituals of a sort. You're exchanging your magical power for a particular effect." Harry had switched into lecture mode now. "The most basic rituals are simply exchanging time and magical power for a specific effect, usually a long term one. Dark rituals are those that are powered by the sacrifice of others, instead of the caster. These are the rituals that Dark Lords use, and that's why they're looked down upon in Britain."

Astoria still had fear on her face, but it was slightly alleviated now. "So, what is the one you want me to do?"

"From what I've been able to figure out, a large part of the problem with your magic is that your core can't maintain a flow of magic for more than a few seconds at a time," Harry explained. "I'm hoping this ritual will make it easier for magic to leave your core and make it easier to cast some spells."

"What if it goes wrong?" she asked nervously.

"I won't lie, there is some risk inherent in any ritual. However, in this ritual, you won't be in any danger since I'll be the one powering it," Harry reassured her. "Not to worry, though, I've been over this dozens of times, and I guarantee there aren't any issues. The worst-case scenario is that I get magically exhausted and you don't feel a change."

Harry could tell that Astoria was still anxious about it, but he'd convinced her. "Alright, let's do it," she said, false bravado in her voice.

"Relax," Harry said with a smile, "nothing's going to go wrong. I'll bet you'll be feeling a lot better by tomorrow." He guided her to the center of the runic circle. "All you have to do is stand there, and don't leave the circle. It should only take a minute or two."

Harry stepped back and knelt on the floor at the edge of the outer ring, then placed his palms firmly on two runes that were etched within. He sent one last reassuring smile to the girl, then closed his eyes and focused on pushing his magic into the runes. Before the ritual proper could even begin, the runes would need to be powered correctly to just the right level. Harry extended his magical senses to the runes nearest him, observing them carefully as he slowly let his magic seep through his hands. Thirty seconds later, he cut off the flow of magic.

"Alright, Astoria, you may feel a strange sensation in a moment, but you just need to stay calm and stay in the circle, okay?" he said in a low voice. Harry then shifted his hands to another pair of runes directly to the right of the previous set, preparing to activate the stored magic. With a deep breath, Harry sent a light pulse of magic into the ground, initiating the ritual before standing and taking a few steps back.

It felt as if a cool wind was blowing towards the runic circle, even though the air wasn't moving. The inner circle of runes lit up with a pale green glow, startling Astoria, though she managed to remain still. Over the next few seconds, the green gave way to a pale blue, nearly the same color as her shield charm. The light continued to build until it was too bright for Harry to even fully see Astoria, but he could tell she was still standing still.

Just as quickly as the light had grown, it faded to nothing. Harry looked back and saw Astoria standing nervously in the center. "Is it done?" she asked.

"It is," Harry replied. "Come on out."

Unsteadily, she stepped over the inner ring, then more confidently when nothing happened. "Now what?"

"I would suggest you avoid casting any magic for twelve hours or so. It won't hurt you, but it's never a bad idea to let it settle afterwards," Harry suggested. Astoria looked a little worried at this, but nodded nonetheless. "Why don't you come see me tomorrow either during lunch or before dinner, so you can let me know how it's going."

"Alright, Professor," Astoria replied, before smiling again as she left the room. Harry waited until she left, then turned to the runes to begin removing them.

* * *

After he finished repairing the floor of the room, Harry left the castle with Saphira coiled around his arm and began walking towards Hogsmeade. He hadn't managed to invite Rosmerta up to the castle since the last two weeks had been so hectic, but he certainly hadn't forgotten. It wasn't a Hogsmeade weekend for the students, so he didn't see a single soul along the way.

"Nic!" Rosmerta called out when she looked up and saw her short-lived employee walking in. "How have you been?"

"Hey, Roz," Harry said with a smile as he sat down at the bar. Before he could ask for it, Rosmerta had pulled a pair of glasses from beneath the bar and poured them each a shot of Muggle whiskey. "Well, that's a new addition," Harry said, pointing to the bottle.

"I decided to take your advice and try it out," she admitted. While he'd worked there, Harry had mentioned to her that Muggle's had a much wider array of liquors, and she'd been intrigued at the time. "I must say, it's quite different from our usual, but it's been a hit with the customers so far. But hey, no changing the subject now, how's life up at the castle?"

Harry heaved a sigh before he took a sip of his drink. "A lot more work than I expected," he said with a wry grin. "The tournament certainly makes things a bit different, but it's definitely keeping me busy."

"Any thoughts on the tournament?" she asked, leaning against the bar across from him. "They haven't had much in the _Prophet_ yet besides the names. Four champions, in the Triwizard Tournament? How did that happen?"

"If I had to guess, it was the same guy who was impersonating Moody," Harry replied. "It's pretty absurd that something like this could happen, but it is what it is, now."

"I just feel so bad for the Potter kid," Rosmerta said, "it's really unfortunate she got stuck in the tournament like that."

"I'm sorry, what was that?" Harry said, certain he'd heard her wrong.

"I just said it was too bad that Lily's daughter got caught up in it all," she answered.

"What do you mean?" Harry said. "She was the Hogwarts champion, Neville got called afterwards, without a school."

"Wait, really?" Rosmerta looked shocked. "According to the _Prophet_ , Neville was the real champion."

"Let me guess, did Skeeter write that article?" Harry asked, a significant amount of vitriol in his voice. Rosmerta just nodded. "Figures. Don't believe a word she says, Roz. Evelyn was the Hogwarts champion, Neville was the one who was roped in by the imposter. Be sure to tell your customers that, too," he said, calming down slightly. "Now, how's business been since I left?"

* * *

Harry entered the Great Hall just before the food arrived on the plates for dinner that night. He'd lost track of time when he was at the Three Broomsticks and had practically jogged the whole way back. He slid into his seat next to Lily.

"Hey, Lily, where were you last night?" he asked as he sat down. Her seat had remained empty the previous night, and Evelyn hadn't made an appearance, either.

"The kids and I went out to have dinner with James," she answered with a smile. "I have to ask, how on earth did you manage to teach Eve to cast silently in just an hour? She came in last night and showed me."

"It's just a matter of getting them to not think about it," Harry replied with a smile. "After I got her angry enough, she just did it on her own."

Lily looked at him skeptically. "You just got her angry? And then she could just cast wordlessly?"

"It certainly won't work for everyone," Harry answered, a little defensively. "She just seemed like she needed to get out of her own head, and that's one of the best ways to do it, I've found."

"No, no, I didn't mean it like that," Lily said with a smile. "It's just hard to believe, but I saw the results for myself. Not to mention, she had nothing but good things to say about your class on the Unforgivables. I must say, even I had my doubts about that, but you did a good job."

"Thanks, Lily, it means a lot," he responded. "I just hope I can keep my students interested, pretty much anything will seem tame after Friday."

Lily laughed. "I'm sure you'll think of something. The students from the other schools are joining starting tomorrow, right?"

Harry groaned at the reminder. "Great, I was looking forward to having to remember more names and grade more homework."

"Stop whining," Lily smirked. "You'll be fine."

"What do you think about having some mock duels between students from the different schools?" Harry asked. "At the very least, it'll keep them from getting bored."

"At this rate, you're going to be nearly every student's favorite teacher," Lily answered. "Just make sure you don't use all of the fun classes too early, otherwise you'll run out later in the semester."

"That's probably a good point. Maybe I'll wait until after the first challenge, so everyone has some time to calm down after the champion selection," Harry mused.

"Good call. As much as I'd like to deny it, I'm sure some of them are upset about Hogwarts getting two shots at the win. Not to mention the fact that Gryffindor has both champions. The other houses can't be too pleased about that," Lily continued.

"No doubt about that," Harry smiled back.

* * *

Upon arriving in his rooms later that night, Harry sealed the doors and windows before moving to his desk. After allowing Saphira to slide to the top, he flicked his wrist, summoning several pieces of parchment and a few books to the table. Spreading them out so he could view them all at once, Harry began explaining to Saphira.

" _Voldemort created these things called Horcruxes,_ " he began, " _that will prevent him from dying as long as they're still around._ "

" _What exactly is a Horcrux?_ " Saphira asked, glancing at the different pages filled with Harry's notes. She couldn't read English perfectly yet, but he had many diagrams on the pages detailing his thoughts on the various locations and objects Voldemort could've used.

" _In very rough terms, it's a soul container,_ " Harry answered. " _Essentially, it provides a link to this plane that doesn't allow the soul to move on after the death of the body. Unfortunately, since he currently doesn't have a real body, he has a much stronger link to his Horcruxes, and he'll know the instant I move or destroy one of them._ "

" _Do you know where to find them?_ " she asked, inspecting a rough sketch of Slytherin's locket.

" _I know where two of them are, and possibly a third,_ " Harry said. " _That locket is in a cave on the coast, there's a cup in the Lestrange vault at Gringotts, and I'm fairly certain that there's one in the castle._ "

" _Do you know how many more you need to find?_ " Saphira inquired.

" _I'm guessing two. I'm pretty sure one of them was destroyed a few years ago, but I need to double check on that one,_ " Harry responded. " _So, until I either know where all of them are or he gets a body again, I just need to focus on figuring out what the last few are._ "

" _Let's get to work, then._ "

* * *

 **Author's Note: Harry hasn't been completely ignoring the Voldemort issue, but there's not a ton he can do at this point. In addition to this, since Dumbledore was killed so much earlier than he expected, he hadn't had a chance to set his plans regarding the ring into motion yet, so Harry doesn't know about it. Anyways, hope you guys enjoy the chapter!**

 **Edit, 11/8/19: Changed Harry's name.**


	13. Weighing of the Wands

Harry got to his classroom early the next morning in anticipation of his first real class with the foreign students. Saphira was coiled on his desk, in Salazar's form as usual, as Harry conversed with her in low tones as they waited. The first students to arrive were the Hogwarts NEWT students, who quickly filled up the first two rows. Just before class was supposed to begin, the Beauxbatons and Durmstrang contingents walked in, filling in the back rows.

"Good morning," Harry said, bringing their attention to the front of the room. "In case you don't remember my name, I'm Nicolaus Blackwood. I hope you all learned a lot from the class on Friday, but I hope you don't expect them all to be that exciting." He flicked his wand at one of the blackboards, revealing a short list of spells. "Today, we're going to be going over all the shields you need to know for the NEWT exams. Yes, I know, most of these are rather basic, but we'll be starting there and working towards the more challenging ones. First off, is _Protego_ …"

* * *

Harry was only halfway through his lecture, just moving on to the more complex and specialized shields, but he could tell that several of his students were losing interest. In fact, several of the Durmstrang and Beauxbatons students were having quiet conversations, not remotely paying attention, including Fleur and her friend. Annoyed, Harry decided to call them out.

"Excuse me," he called out, "is my lecture disturbing you? Do you want me to stop so you can finish your conversation?"

"Sorry, Professor," one of the Durmstrang students replied, not looking it at all. "It won't happen again."

"Come down here, please," Harry said. "You, too," he pointed towards the girl who had been speaking with Fleur. "What are your names?" he asked as they walked to the front.

"Amelie Beaumont, sir," Fleur's friend answered with nearly no accent.

"Elian Stoyanov, Professor," the Durmstrang student said sullenly.

"Well, since you seem to know so much about shields, why don't you demonstrate for the class," Harry said, pushing his desk towards the wall with a negligent wave of his wand. "I'm going to cast a shield, and you will use the spell that you think will break it the easiest." Without an incantation, Harry summoned a golden dome around himself and nodded at both students. "Let's see what you've got."

Elian cast a moderately powerful _Reducto_ at his shield, which simply made a deep ringing sound and sent a slight ripple across the dome. Following that, Amelie sent a piercing spell, which had a similar effect. "As you can see," Harry said as he dispelled his shield, "certain shields are very effective against certain spells. Alright," he turned back to the pair next to him, "your turn. Cast any shield you like, and I'll see if I can break it."

Elian immediately cast, " _Contego_ ," with a confident expression on his face. Harry turned back to the class.

" _Contego_ is an OWL level shield and is generally useful against both physical and magical attacks. However, it does have one rather glaring weakness." Harry launched a weak piercing hex towards the shield, where it landed just to the side of Elian's wandtip. With a sound like shattering glass, the shield broke apart. Elian's face turned a deep shade of red. "A sharp strike to _Contego_ that lands near the caster's wandtip is nearly certain to break the shield. Alright, Amelie, your turn," he said, turning to the French student.

" _Forsvare,_ " she said firmly, though with less confidence than Elian. Like water, dark blue magic flowed from the tip of her wand until a translucent hemisphere stood between herself and Harry.

" _Forsvare_ is an uncommon shield spell, mainly due to how difficult it is to cast properly. If done so, it is almost impenetrable unless the attacker simply overwhelms the power of the defender. If not, though…" he turned to Amelie and sent a jet of flames towards the shield. With a hiss, the shield evaporated as if it were truly made of water. "A simple flame spell can almost always destroy it. If it is still rippling like water, it is not properly cast." He gestured for the two students to return to their seats, and they did so, eyes downcast. "The shield I cast at the beginning was _Aegis_. It creates a full dome around the caster, and unless overpowered, it is impervious to magical and physical attacks. However, it does prevent the caster from casting any other spells at the same time. The best way to bring it down is to distract the caster or force them to cast another spell, like setting fire to their surroundings or destabilizing the ground beneath them." Harry glanced at his watch. "Alright, time to go. Get out of here."

In near silence, the students left the classroom. Harry moved his desk back to its original position and sat down heavily, frustrated with how the class had gone. He gently stroked Saphira's head while he waited for the next class to arrive.

* * *

Harry dismissed the fifth-years to lunch, happy to be back to a normal sized class, since Durmstrang and Beauxbatons had only brought their NEWT level students. He took a moment to sort the homework assignments he'd received and was picking up Saphira to head to the Great Hall when he heard the door open behind him.

"It worked!" Astoria shouted, flying down the stairs and practically tackling Harry in rush to give him a hug around the waist. "I didn't believe it, I couldn't believe it, but it worked!" Tears were coming from her eyes as she continued hugging Harry, who awkwardly patted her on the back. He hadn't anticipated this reaction.

"Er, do you think you could show me?" Harry asked after a few moments. Astoria stood back, tear tracks still on her face.

" _Protego_ ," she said in a near whisper. Harry could feel as her magic leaped to obey her command in a much smoother fashion than it had just a week before. She maintained the shield for nearly a minute before cutting it off of her own accord.

"I decided to try it this morning, and it just worked," she said with a face-splitting smile. "It feels so much easier to do anything, even the spells that I didn't have trouble with before. It's incredible, I can't believe it's supposed to be this easy."

Harry smiled back at the young girl. "I'm glad it worked. Just keep in mind, this is a temporary fix, but I promise you I won't give up on this."

"I'm really sorry I didn't believe you yesterday," she said, a sheepish look on her face. "To be honest, I was pretty scared about doing a ritual, but after today… Thank you."

"You're very welcome, Ms. Greengrass," Harry answered. "If you hadn't heard, Ms. Potter chose me as her advisor for the tournament, so for the next few weeks I'll be pretty busy. However, we'll still have our meetings as usual, so keep working on your exercises. And, of course, if you need anything else my door is always open for you."

"Thank you so much, Profe—Nic, this means so much to me," Astoria said as she moved back towards the door. "I'll see you tomorrow." Harry gave her a wave as she left.

As soon as the door closed, Harry slumped into his chair and heaved a sigh of relief. Knowing the ritual had worked was a huge weight off his back, not to mention that it only served to strengthen his beliefs regarding her condition. With any luck, he'd have a more long-term solution for her by the winter break.

* * *

The rest of the day passed quickly, with each of the classes running about as smoothly as he could ask for. Continuing with his theme of safety in all of his classes, he'd taught his fourth-years _Contego_ , and was reasonably please with their progress, though he still assigned them an essay on the strengths and weaknesses of it compared to _Protego_. Harry sat at his usual spot at the head table, sandwiched between Flitwick and Lily.

"How's your training going with Ms. Potter, if you don't mind my asking?" Flitwick said as they began to serve themselves.

"I trust you won't go sharing any of this with her competitors?" Harry asked with a smile. "Actually, she managed to cast silently on Saturday," he said in a low voice, not wanting any of the other advisors or judges to hear.

Flitwick nearly choked. "Is that so?" he asked incredulously.

"It certainly is," Lily said from Harry's other side, "she came into my rooms and nearly made me pass out when she levitated my coffee table without a word."

"That is quite the achievement, please pass on my compliments to Evelyn," Flitwick smiled back. "How are your classes with the new students? I think my reputation as a duelist preceded me, I had several students ask me for private lessons, including the Beauxbatons champion. Of course, I refused, I haven't had a student in years, but it was a little surprising nonetheless."

Harry snorted. "They were barely listening to my lecture, at least until I did some demonstrations."

"What were you covering?" Flitwick asked.

"A review on shields. I was _trying_ to build up to some of the more advanced ones, but I admit, I got a little annoyed when I saw them talking on the side," Harry explained. "I had to show them they weren't quite as advanced as they thought, so hopefully we'll make some real progress next time."

Flitwick laughed at that. "It's always a challenge when the students think they know better than you, but I'm sure they'll start listening now."

Harry leaned back and glanced out over the gathered students. As his eyes scanned over the Slytherin table he noticed Daphne carefully avoiding his gaze, quickly turning to continue a conversation with Tracey Davis as soon as he glanced her way. He decided to look back to his own table, so she wouldn't realize that her observation had been noticed but reminded himself that he couldn't let his guard down around the Greengrass heir.

* * *

" _Mischief Managed,_ " Harry whispered to the Magimau guarding his quarters after dinner that night. He had a stack of homework levitating behind him that he would need to grade before going to bed, not to mention his continued research into Voldemort's Horcruxes, so he was looking forward to getting a lot of work done.

"Professor?" Daphne Greengrass' voice interrupted his thoughts just as he was about to close the door to his rooms. With a sigh, Harry flicked his wrist and directed the stack of papers into his room before he turned to Daphne.

"What can I do for you, Ms. Greengrass?" he asked, his tone level, not betraying an ounce of his annoyance.

She looked uncharacteristically nervous but wasn't fazed by his cool greeting. "Could I speak to you for a moment sir? In private?"

Harry just nodded, flicking his hand discreetly as he turned to hide any sensitive material in his room. He sat down on the armchair nearest the fire and gestured to the small sofa across from him, where Daphne sat uncomfortable on the edge of the seat. He looked at her expectantly, waiting for her to explain why she'd come to see him.

"I wanted to talk to you about my sister," Daphne started. Harry raised an eyebrow.

"Didn't we have this discussion just last week?" Harry answered. "I assure you, my response hasn't changed since then."

"I'm not going to ask why you're meeting with her, I know you won't tell me," she said. "I just wanted to make sure you're not getting her hopes up about anything. I just… I don't want to see her get hurt, and I can tell she's been happier the last week or so."

Harry sighed. He certainly couldn't tell Daphne what exactly he was doing, but he understood her concern. Additionally, he couldn't afford for her to get too worried, lest she go running to her father.

"All I can tell you is that I haven't lied to her, and I've only done is what any decent person would do. I'll talk to her and try to convince her to tell you at least something, but I can't guarantee anything," Harry said, trying to appease her without giving anything away.

Daphne looked torn at this. Harry could tell she was conflicted, both wanting to protect her sister from everything and wanting her to be happy. "Do you think I could come next Sunday with her?"

"That's for her to decide," Harry said, a little gentler now. "I think you need to trust your sister. She's smart, and a lot more mature than I think you're giving her credit for."

"She's still just twelve!" Daphne exclaimed.

"And you're just fourteen. Neither of you are adults, but I'm sure you had to make decisions, too, when you were in your second year," Harry pointed out. "Just ask her if you can come this weekend, or at the very least if she'll give you a hint of what's going on. _Trust_ her."

Daphne nodded, looking down at the rug. Harry was uncomfortable at this point. This was certainly not how he'd foreseen his evening progressing. Daphne sniffed, then stood up.

"Thank you, Professor," she said, her normal, cool façade sliding onto her face. She stood and smoothed her robes before walking towards the door. "I'll do that. I'll see you in class on Wednesday."

Harry stood as well, moving to the door to guide her out. "Oh, Ms. Greengrass, one more thing," he said. She turned around next to the statue guarding his rooms. "Catch," he said with a smirk, tossing a small stone to her. He'd seen her slipping it into the sofa as she was standing up. It was identical to the one that had been wedged into his statue.

The blonde snatched it out of the air, cheeks blazing red. She knew she could get in a lot of trouble for being caught trying to spy on a teacher, but she was mostly just embarrassed at getting caught so easily. Her father had set to her the task of gathering information on the anomaly that was Nicolaus Blackwood, but so far, she'd failed to glean anything but the most trivial facts.

"I must say, I think your first attempt was the best one so far," Harry said with a smile, before closing the door firmly, leaving a dumbstruck Daphne behind him.

Daphne's mind was going at full speed. Her professor clearly knew of all of her attempts to spy on him, but still decided to do nothing about it. If she was being honest with herself, he seemed more amused than annoyed, which in turn, annoyed her. There was nothing she liked less than being underestimated. Sooner or later, he'd make a mistake, and she would finally have something for her father.

* * *

Harry was forced to cancel all of his classes on Wednesday afternoon in anticipation of the wand weighing ceremony. He wasn't really looking forward to it, mainly since he suspected that Rita Skeeter would be there, but as an advisor he was required to attend.

Upon entering the room, he was immediately taken aback by the sheer number of people crammed inside. When he'd competed, it had just been the champions, judges, Ollivander, and Skeeter. This time, though, there were also the advisors for each of the champions, as well as what looked like press contingents from other countries. Despite his general disdain for all things press-related, he hoped that they would at least accurately report on the tournament.

Trying to avoid the cameras, Harry swiftly moved to the row of chairs and sat at the end. It seemed that he'd managed to avoid Skeeter's gaze for the moment, but he had no expectations that he wouldn't have an altercation with her eventually. Most of the other champions were already there; in fact, it looked as if Evelyn was the only person missing. Harry took the time to observe the few people he didn't know.

Aside from the press, only Fleur's and Krum's advisors were unknowns to him. The Beauxbatons professor was a tall, thin man that was vaguely reminiscent of Snape, though his hair was grey, short-cropped, and significantly less greasy than the Hogwarts Potions Master's. He also had a light dusting of stubble along his sharp jaw, and his amber eyes were carefully scanning the room as Fleur conversed quietly with him. He rarely spoke, usually responding to her with simple nods or single words.

Krum's advisor was an unremarkable man about the same height as his charge. He had black hair that hung to his shoulders and looked nearly as surly as Krum. Instead of talking to his student, he was talking with Karkaroff in low voices in a corner of the room. Though it was clear several of the reporters wanted to get closer and get a good quote for their respective papers, the occasional glare from the two men was enough to deter them.

After several minutes of waiting, Evelyn finally arrived, muttering a quiet apology to Dumbledore. A few minutes later, Dumbledore managed to get the crowd settled and in their seats.

"Welcome, everyone, to the Weighing of the Wands," Dumbledore called out. "I'll turn it over to Ludo and Mr. Weasley to explain what we're doing here."

"Welcome, welcome," Bagman said excitedly, "so good to see you all again. As you can see, we have quite the presence here by the press today," he gestured to the reporters, "and we're looking forward to the first official event—well, maybe gathering is a better word—of the tournament. We have Mr. Garrick Ollivander here with us to inspect the wands of the champions, the foremost wand lore expert in the British Isles."

"The Weighing of the Wands is a longstanding tradition of the Triwizard Tournament," Percy continued, "to ensure that the champions all have a fighting chance, and perhaps to give each of the champions a bit of insight into their competitors. Without further ado, Mr. Ollivander."

The old man stood from his chair against the wall and stood behind a small table near the center of the wall. He lifted a wrinkled hand and gestured for Fleur to stand and join him, which she gracefully did. Harry noticed several of the reporters' eyes glaze over slightly as she became the center of attention, their quills nearly falling from their hands. Rita's eyes, however, were hawk-like, her Quick-Quotes Quill scribbling madly. Gently, Ollivander lifted the rosewood wand from her outstretched hand.

"Nine and a half inches, rosewood, and containing a Veela hair, I believe?" he said as he ran his fingers along the length of the wand.

"That is correct," Fleur answered, "one of my grandmother's."

"Indeed," Ollivander said with a short glance in her direction. "Veela-core wands are very in tune with their owners' emotions, though can be rather temperamental in certain circumstances…" He trailed off and wrapped his fingers around the hilt. " _Orchideous!_ " he clearly intoned. A bouquet of flowers burst from the wand and was deftly caught by the old wandcrafter in a quick motion.

"Everything seems to be in order," he said with a smile, passing both the flowers and the wand back to Fleur, who smiled slightly and returned to her seat. "Next, the Durmstrang champion."

Krum heaved himself to his feet and stomped his way to the center of the room, thrusting his wand out towards Ollivander as he did so. Undeterred, Ollivander picked it up and began to inspect it.

"Ten and a quarter inches, hornbeam, and dragon heartstring?" Ollivander asked rhetorically. "Clearly a Gregorovitch wand, as evidenced by the utilitarian design. Uniquely suited to offensive magic and transfiguration, but can be weak in defense and charms, though this can obviously be countered by a well-rounded owner. _Avis!_ " With a crack like a whip, three small yellow snidgets appeared, making a lap about the room before flying out the window Ollivander had opened for them. The wandmaker then passed the wand back to its owner.

"Wonderful. Mr. Longbottom, if you would?" Ollivander said. The slightly pudgy boy stood confidently and walked forward, passing his wand to the old man. "Ah, now this is one of mine. Precisely thirteen inches, cherry, with a unicorn hair," he said with absolute certainty. "Well taken care of. _Ignis!_ "

A long tongue of flames jumped from the tip of the wand, twisting in on itself for a few seconds before becoming recognizable as a dragon of some sort. The animal of flame flew around the room once before evaporating in a puff of smoke. "Unicorn hair cores are well suited to an imaginative caster, making visualization an important part of spellcasting. Thank you," he said, passing the wand back to the teen.

Finally, he turned to Evelyn. "Last, but not least, Ms. Potter, please," he said softly. Evelyn stood and stepped forward with sure steps, acting every inch the champion. She held her wand out, waiting for Ollivander to take it.

Ollivander's eyes lit up at the sight of this wand. He took it from her hand almost reverently. "Ah, yes, of course," he said quietly. Just like when he'd been in this situation, Harry was worried he would spill the story behind the wand. Fortunately, he was wrong. "Eleven inches, holly, and a phoenix feather core," he said. "Well suited for defensive magic, but with a phoenix core, rather difficult to tame. Once a phoenix wand's loyalty is won, though, it is hard to lose. _Aegis!_ "

A dome of pure, golden light formed around the wandmaker. He inspected it for what seemed like forever but was really only a few seconds. With a flick of the wand, Ollivander cancelled the spell and passed it back to Evelyn. As he did so, his silver eyes turned briefly to Harry, who felt as if his soul were being judged by the old man. A single white eyebrow lifted a fraction of an inch, before he stepped back.

"Thank you for allowing me to be here today to witness some truly amazing wands. I wish you all luck in the tournament, and in your futures," Ollivander said. Bagman was about to step forward, when Skeeter cut in.

"Time, I think, for pictures?" she said, stepping in before Bagman could get a word in edgewise. "Starting with the judges?" Bagman eagerly agreed to this, clearly looking forward to getting his picture back into the newspaper. Harry remained in his seat as the judges and champions were shuffled around by Skeeter's cameraman, observing the controlled chaos.

"Mr. Blackwood?" Ollivander's voice said quietly from his side. Harry turned to the man.

"A pleasure to meet you, Mr. Ollivander," Harry said, extending his hand for him to shake. The wandmaker grasped his hand with a grip tighter than he anticipated, a strange look in his eyes, before Harry felt a jolt of magic launch through his palm. He yanked his hand back quickly, but not before Ollivander got a victorious look in his eyes.

"I'm sorry for catching you off-guard like that, but I had to be certain," he said, his voice very quiet. "I felt… something, when I tested Ms. Potter's wand, and now I'm certain I was correct. You have a wand in your arm. And not just any wand, but a sibling wand to hers." He rubbed his chin as the two men looked straight towards the crowd, not glancing at each other. Apparently, neither of them wanted this conversation to be made public.

"Now, here is where I become uncertain," Ollivander continued. "I know for a fact that I only ever made one other wand that was a brother to hers, and I am just as sure that the one in your arm is not that wand. So, you must see my dilemma." Harry said nothing, choosing to just listen. "Beyond that, I'm shocked that someone can even survive with something like that inside their body. I would have expected that having that amount of wild magic in your body would tear your magical pathways apart, but it seems I was mistaken. Would you care to tell me how this happened?"

"I'm afraid I can't tell you that," Harry finally said. He was uncomfortable with how much Ollivander already knew, and so wasn't willing to give him anything else.

"That's quite alright, I've always enjoyed a puzzle," Ollivander said with a slight grin. "Don't worry, I'll be attending all of the tasks, so I'm sure we'll be able to speak about this again." Harry grunted noncommittally, and Ollivander stood and walked towards Dumbledore. Bagman had dismissed the champions, but the photographer was still snapping photos left and right, while the reporters were doing their best to speak with the champions. Harry noticed Skeeter literally dragging Evelyn towards the door, likely to the same broom closet where Harry had his "interview" with her, and quickly stood.

"Ms. Potter," he interrupted, bringing Skeeter to an abrupt stop, "you said you wanted to speak to me, and I'm afraid I've only got a few minutes, so it'll have to be now."

Evelyn looked confused but hid it quickly and played along. "Yes, professor, of course."

"Sorry, Ms. Skeeter, but we really must be going," Harry said, doing his best to keep the grin from his face. She gave him a pinched smile before moving back to the other champions. Harry gestured for Evelyn to exit the room.

"What was that about?" she asked as they walked towards his classroom. "Sir," she then added belatedly.

"Rita Skeeter has a unique ability to twist someone's words into nearly any shape she desires," Harry explained. "I assure you, had she gotten you alone, she would've written a singularly unpleasant article about you. Did you see her article from last week?" She shook her head. "She wrote that Neville was the real champion, and implied that you'd cheated your way in."

"Are you kidding me?" Evelyn asked, outraged. "That's ridiculous. It might not have been the smartest thing for me to do, but I got chosen fair and square."

"Hey, I'm just the messenger," Harry said, smiling slightly as they arrived at his classroom. "Alright, why don't you show me what you can do."

* * *

That Friday night, Harry was doing his rounds through the dark halls of Hogwarts, quietly conversing with Saphira. The rest of the week had gone fairly smoothly, with the foreign students settling into their classes and some of the uproar that had surrounded the tournament dying down. Granted, Skeeter's article had been somewhat controversial, and succeeded in stirring up the Hogwarts student body and polarizing them between either supporting Neville or Evelyn, but it hadn't turned ugly yet.

" _You're telling me there was a basilisk in here? And you killed it?_ " Saphira asked. Harry had just told her the tale of his second year at Hogwarts, and she was, predictably, both impressed and outraged.

" _You know, it's not like I really had a choice,_ " he said. " _I would've died if I didn't. I practically did, I got bit by the damn thing!_ "

" _Yeah, but I'm sure you could've figured something else out,_ " she argued, still not understanding the situation.

" _I was twelve, you've got to cut me a little slack,_ " Harry answered.

" _Twelve? I'm not even two years, and I'm already pretty much as smart as you,_ " the snake shot back. Harry sighed. " _What is that?_ " she asked.

" _What is what?_ " Harry asked exasperatedly.

" _That noise,_ " she continued, sounding serious now. Harry stopped walking, straining his ears.

" _I still don't hear anything, Saphira,_ " he said.

" _It's coming from that staircase,_ " Saphira said, gesturing with her tail to his right. Harry began walking up the stairs quietly, continuing to listen carefully.

" _Saphira, I still don't—_ " he cut himself off. As he spoke, he heard what sounded like shouting coming from ahead, before it was suddenly cut off. He quickened his pace, flicking his wand into his hand as he did so.

The staircase let him out at the end of a long hallway, near the Charms classroom if he remembered correctly. All the way down the hall, in front of a large window, he could see the silhouettes of six students. Four of them were standing, wands drawn, in front of two others, one of whom was on their knees, with the other standing protectively in front, though clearly wandless. Harry began walking towards the group. Harry could see one of the students begin a wand motion, waving his wand towards the pair. With a flick of his wand, Harry conjured a shield between the students, sending a red jet of light careening into the window, cracking it slightly. Every head turned towards him immediately.

"What exactly is going on here?" Harry asked, his voice quiet and deadly. The four students still in possession of their wands were Draco Malfoy, Vincent Crabbe, Gregory Goyle, and Theodore Nott. Daphne Greengrass and Tracey Davis had been the other two.

"Professor," Malfoy began, "my friends and I noticed these two sneaking out of the dorms past curfew, so we were just trying to get them back to the dorms before they were caught." Harry could tell he was lying, but just turned to Daphne, who was sending daggers towards the blond.

"Pardon my language, Professor, but that's bullshit," Daphne said. "Tracey isn't feeling well, so we were just heading to the hospital wing. Draco and Theo disarmed us before we even knew they were following us."

"You four," Harry said, gesturing to the boys, "detention with Mr. Filch, tomorrow and Sunday night, for threatening unarmed students. Don't give me that look, all of you had your wands out, and you're _still_ holding their wands," Harry pointed out as Nott was about to argue with him. Sheepishly, the boy handed the wands back to the girls, who snatched them out of their hands with a glare. "Additionally, each of you will lose twenty points for breaking curfew." Daphne and Tracey nodded in acceptance, while the boys looked as if they wanted to argue, but they held their tongues in the end. "You four, head back to the dorms. Ms. Greengrass, Ms. Davis, come with me to the infirmary please."

Malfoy and his friends quickly retreated, talking quietly among themselves as soon as they were out of earshot. Harry, Daphne, and Tracey quickly arrived at the hospital wing, Tracey entering with a murmured "thank you" to Harry. Just before Daphne entered, she paused and waited for the door to close again. Harry raised an eyebrow as she turned back to him.

"Thank you, Professor," she said. "They managed to catch us off-guard, but that won't be happening again."

"I would suggest not breaking curfew next time," Harry returned with a slight smile, "but you're welcome. Have you spoken to your sister yet?"

"Not yet, sir. Perhaps I will tomorrow." The girl looked uncertain now. "Do you have any free time tomorrow?" she asked. "I have some defense related questions I'd like to ask you."

"Sure thing, I don't have any pressing matters tomorrow until later in the afternoon, just grading, so I'll be in my quarters most of the day. Stop by whenever you'd like," Harry answered.

"Thanks, Professor. Goodnight," she said, before following her friend into the infirmary.

* * *

 **Author's Note: Well, finals are finally over, so hopefully I can get back to updating at a reasonable pace. We'll finally be getting to the first task in the next chapter or two (finally, some action!). Hope you guys enjoy, and as always, any feedback is appreciated!**

 **Edit, 11/8/19: Changed Harry's name.**


	14. Explorations

**Author's Note: I've made some large revisions to the rest of the story (no major plot points have changed), but what you need to know is that I've changed the name Harry is going by. It used to be Rahkesh Asmodeus, but it is now Nicolaus Blackwood.**

* * *

The next day, Harry spent most of his time grading the next morning, slogging his way through the essays his younger students had written. For the most part, he was pleased with their work, though he made note of some of the most common mistakes. He'd just finished the lunch he had delivered to his rooms when he heard a knock on his door.

"Come in!" he called out, standing and walking to the entrance. Daphne came in a few seconds later. "What can I do for you, Ms. Greengrass?"

"I was wondering, sir, if I could get some extra lessons in defense," she started. "The scuffle Tracey and I had with the boys yesterday sort of drove home that being good in class doesn't necessarily mean that I know how to use it."

Harry sighed heavily. "To be honest, Ms. Greengrass, I don't think I have time in my schedule. What with teaching, training Ms. Potter for the tournament, and my other projects, I'm not sure I can take you on right now," he explained. Her face fell. "Perhaps you could ask Filius? He was a dueling champion in his youth, he may consider helping you if you demonstrate your dedication."

"I know about your fight in Hogsmeade," she blurted out, looking as if she regretted revealing that immediately after, though she schooled her expression rapidly.

"And how, Ms. Greengrass, would you know about that?" he asked in a low tone. "As far as I know, all of that information is rather hard to come across." Daphne looked afraid for a moment before she managed to school her expression.

"That's not important," she said, sounding so certain that Harry nearly agreed with her. "What's important is that I know that I want training from you, not the other professors."

"I'm afraid that telling me that isn't going to change anything," Harry said. "My schedule is still full, and it's not going to clear up in the foreseeable future." Daphne paused as if realizing that he wasn't going to sway on this topic.

"What if I joined in Potter's sessions?" she asked suddenly, her eyes brightening.

"I don't think that's going to work," he answered. "She's training for the tournament, and I'm not going to disrupt that just because you want more practice." He could tell her anger was rising when he said that, but she managed to hold her tongue.

"What if," she said slowly, "I got her to agree to let me join in?"

"How do you plan on doing that?" Harry asked.

"Would you let me join if she agreed to it?" she pressed, ignoring his question.

"Perhaps, but certainly not until after the first task," Harry answered, certain Evelyn would never agree to it. Daphne got a victorious look on her face at his response.

"Thank you, Professor," she said with a smile. "See you in class." With that, the blonde spun and left the room. Suspicious, Harry cast his magic about the room, but it seemed that the girl hadn't tried to spy on him this time. With a sigh, Harry turned back to the stack of parchment on his desk.

* * *

A few hours later, Harry was waiting in the dueling room for Evelyn for her next practice session. He wasn't certain if the first take would be the same as his own, but he certainly couldn't rule it out, and so he'd decided to start off with spells that could be useful against a dragon. He cast a few spells on the back wall, simultaneously increasing the physical durability of the stones and warding it slightly against magic, then tossed a _Reducto_ at the wall. The red flash was absorbed quickly, leaving no damage on the stones.

" _What did you do?_ " Saphira hissed from her perch on his shoulder, eyeing the wall carefully.

" _Hopefully, that will be somewhat similar to dragonhide in its strength,_ " Harry responded. " _I believe the first task may involve a dragon, but it's futile to face one head-on, since there are very few spells that can really do any noticeable damage to their scales._ " He threw another _Reducto_ at the wall, stronger than the first. The spells glowed briefly, absorbing the magic over the course of a few seconds. " _This should dissuade her from taking a direct approach._ "

"What was that?" Evelyn's voice called from the doorway. Harry barely managed to avoid a flinch, not having realized he'd left the door open. He was _not_ ready for his Parseltongue ability to become public knowledge.

"Just talking to myself," Harry replied easily, turning as he spoke. "How're you feeling?"

"Stressed," Evelyn admitted, "but I'm ready to go."

"Good," Harry said. "Do me a favor, cast the strongest _Reducto_ you can manage on the wall right here."

Evelyn gave him a questioning look, but she still did as he asked. An incandescent beam of red light shot from her wandtip and impacted the wall, where it glowed for a moment before dimming. She turned back to him.

"What was the point of that?" she asked.

"I've enchanted that wall to be about as strong as dragonhide," Harry explained. "There are many magical creatures with a natural resistance to both physical and magical damage, and that means a head-on approach is… inadvisable, to say the least."

Evelyn nodded. "So, what animals don't have this sort of resistance?"

"Typically, animals without long hair or scales will be less resistant, but that's not always true," Harry said. "The library is an excellent resource, I suggest you look into this to find any exceptions to this."

"So, what are we working on today?" Evelyn inquired.

"Today, you're going to be developing strategies to face a stronger opponent," Harry explained. "Practically any magical creature will be able to overpower even a fully trained witch or wizard, and the only reason that magizoologists can work independently is because they outsmart the animals and put them into situations where their strengths aren't particularly helpful." He nodded to Saphira, who glided from his shoulder to the perch in the corner of the room.

"I'll be your opponent today," he continued, hopping up to the dueling platform and walking towards the center. "I'll tell you a few traits of some animal, and you'll develop a strategy to complete the task I give you." A wave of his wand transformed the tables and chairs into boulders of various size, that he then spread about the room randomly. Another flick made the ground uneven, intentionally mimicking the stadium where he'd faced the Hungarian Horntail. Harry shot a slightly cruel grin at Evelyn, already knowing she would hate him soon enough. "Let's get started."

* * *

"I regret everything," Evelyn groaned as she fell onto the couch in her parent's rooms later that evening.

"What's that, dear?" Lily asked as she sat gently on the other end of the couch.

"He's such a taskmaster!" Evelyn exclaimed. "He must've run me through at least twenty of his little trials today, I only got a break when he was telling me what I was doing wrong."

"What was he having you do?" Lily asked, curious now. Evelyn certainly complained from time to time, but rarely saw her this worked up.

"He'd pretend to be some magical creature, tell me what strengths they had, and then he just told me to get from one end of the room to the other," she said, an arm draped over her face as she spoke. "If he said chimera, he cast a spell to boost his hearing, then he'd wander around and shoot fire at me if he heard me. When he said griffin, he'd enhance his eyesight and just perch in a corner, shooting spells if he saw me."

"He didn't hurt you, did he?" Lily asked, slightly concerned now.

"No, mom, no," Evelyn hurriedly answered, sitting up and making eye contact with Lily. "The fire wasn't hot enough to hurt, just to let me know he got me." She scooted towards the end of the couch, propping herself up against the armrest. "I was definitely doing better towards the end, it was just exhausting. It was probably about three hours of constant casting and running."

Lily smiled slightly. "It sounds like you're having a good time, then," she said. "How are you feeling about the first task?" Evelyn shrugged.

"Okay, I guess," she said noncommittally. "He mentioned that one of the tasks is usually something involving a magical creature, so I definitely feel better about that. No idea about how I'll stack up against the other champions, though."

"It sounds like Nic has things pretty well handled," Lily admitted. "I'm sure he'll get to real dueling soon enough."

"Where's dad?" Evelyn asked, finally realizing that her father still hadn't arrived.

"I don't think he'll be back tonight," Lily told her. "He's… well, he's part of the group looking for Crouch. They got a tip earlier today, so I wouldn't bet on seeing him until tomorrow or Monday."

Evelyn opened her mouth to reply, but she was interrupted by the door to the rooms opening, accompanied by two voices.

"There's no way—"

"I'm telling you, I saw—"

"People can't just walk through—"

"I get that, but that's what I saw!"

"Adrian, Alyssa, lower your voices please," Lily called out to the entryway with a smile on her lips. The fraternal twins rushed through the door.

"Mom, Alyssa's lying again," Adrian started, leaping in front of his sister and claiming the armchair nearest Evelyn. Alyssa huffed, but turned and sat on the couch next to Evelyn. "She keeps saying she saw someone walk through a wall after dinner."

"I'm not lying!" she exclaimed. "On the way up here, I looked down the hallway to the library and saw the new teacher walk straight through a wall!"

"Yeah, right," Adrian said, rolling his eyes dramatically, "only ghosts can go through walls." Alyssa narrowed her eyes at her sibling but was fortunately stopped from responding by Evelyn.

"You know, there are loads of secret passages all over Hogwarts," she pointed out. "I doubt Dumbledore even knows them all, it's definitely possible he found one near there." As she spoke, she draped an arm around her younger sister's shoulders. "Do you guys know the one near Gryffindor tower, the one that comes out next to the Great Hall?" Her siblings looked at her with wide eyes, shaking their heads vigorously.

"Where is it?" Alyssa asked.

"How do you use it?" Adrian spoke over her.

Lily smiled as she watched Evelyn describe the various passageways to her siblings, glad to have some distraction from her missing husband.

* * *

Harry slept in the next morning, having sent a message to Astoria the previous evening that they wouldn't be meeting today. The minor ritual they'd performed the week before should hold for several months at the least, but Harry had a lot of work he needed to do on his own before he could even attempt something more permanent. He'd decided to devote the entirety of the morning and early afternoon on creating a more effective ritual and was considering searching parts of the castle for the Horcrux he suspected Voldemort had hidden there years before.

Two hours later, Harry threw his quill to the table for the hundredth time that morning. He must have attempted at least seventeen different modifications to the various rituals in Aldous Nott's notes, but there had inevitably been a problem that made the rituals unstable in one way or another. Some of them would likely have destroyed a good portion of Hogwarts had he attempted it, and others would've drained his magic until he was practically a Squib. More and more, he was becoming convinced that he would have to design a ritual from scratch, something he'd been hoping to avoid. Such a project was incredibly time consuming, and time was one of the things he was short on at the moment.

" _Stop that,_ " Saphira hissed from the tree near his desk, " _I'm trying to sleep and you're not helping. If you're going to continue, either be quiet or work somewhere else._ "

" _Yes, mother,_ " Harry said with a roll of his eyes. He grabbed a few sheets of notes, leaving the rest, and dodged Saphira's tail as he stood and stretched. Perhaps a change of scenery would do him some good. " _Want to see Slytherin's Chamber of Secrets?_ " he asked his familiar as he shrank his notes and tucked them into his breast pocket.

" _Whatever,_ " she replied, allowing him to lazily drape her over his shoulders. " _As long as I can sleep when we get there._ "

Harry left his rooms and began the short walk to the second floor, glancing around as he approached the girl's lavatory. A quick _Homenum Revelio_ told him that the bathroom was empty, so he entered and walked to the sink.

" _Open,_ " he hissed, and watched as the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets revealed himself.

"Who's there?" a voice called from behind him. Harry groaned and strongly considered jumping into the tube without a word, but he turned and faced the ghost of the young woman.

"Hello, Ms. Warren," Harry said. "How are you today?"

The ghost stopped short at his words. "Did… did you just call me 'Ms. Warren?'"

"Of course, I did. That is your name, correct?" Harry responded calmly.

"Well, yeah, but… I haven't been called anything but 'Moaning Myrtle' for a long time," she responded, sniffing slightly. "Who are you? I don't mean to be rude, but this _is_ a girl's bathroom."

"I'm the new Defense professor," Harry said with a slight smile, "Nicolaus Blackwood."

"Why are you here?" the girl asked, much less defensively than before.

"I heard that there was an incident here a year or two ago," Harry started, "and I wanted to come by and check that it was safe now. It is part of my job, of course." The ghost nodded firmly. "I don't suppose you would mind if I came by from time to time?"

"No, no, of course I wouldn't," Myrtle said, more excited than Harry had ever seen her.

"Wonderful," Harry said. "I'm sorry to go so quickly, but I really do need to go check it out," he said as he turned back to the sinks. Myrtle nodded confidently and slowly drifted back to her usual stall.

Harry looked thoughtfully at the hole in the floor. " _Stairs,_ " he whispered after a moment, but nothing happened. With a shrug, Harry cast an _Impervius_ on his robes and stepped into the darkness.

* * *

It had taken a few minutes for Harry to repair the damage that had been done to the ceiling of the chamber, but he was soon back in the chamber proper for the first time in many years. He slowly walked the length of the massive room, his echoing footsteps filling his ears. As he moved through the chamber, he flicked his fingers towards the torches that lined the walls, chasing away some of the shadows.

He quickly arrived at the end of the chamber, the looming visage of Salazar Slytherin leering down at him. The rotting husk of the basilisk blocked his path, but at the moment he wasn't interested in getting past it, instead he began inspecting the floor around the beast's massive skull. Saphira slid from his shoulders wordlessly, slowly moving around the carcass and taking in every detail.

Finally, Harry found the stained flagstones where the diary had been destroyed. In a roughly circular shape nearly ten feet across, the floor was a deep black color. Had it been regular ink, there likely wouldn't have been a mark left after two years, but Voldemort's magic had corrupted the very ink in the diary, causing it to eat away at the stone floor over the past two years. Harry smiled slightly at the confirmation that this Horcrux had already been destroyed.

" _I'm glad I decided to come with you,_ " Saphira hissed from behind him. Harry stood and turned, mouth opening to ask a question, but he nearly fell to the floor as he instinctively slammed his eyes shut.

Coiled before him was a huge snake, with deadly yellow eyes staring at him. A hissing laugh filled the air as Saphira watched Harry slowly recover from his shock.

" _I must say, I wish I could show some of my larger forms to some of the students,_ " Saphira hissed. " _If_ you _react like that, I can't even imagine how that white-haired rabbit would._ "

" _You mean Draco?_ " Harry asked with amusement, having finally calmed his racing heart enough to take in Saphira's newest form. She was less than two-thirds the length of the dead basilisk next to her, but that was still nothing to sneeze at. From nose to tail, she was probably close to the length of the Horntail Harry had faced in his fourth year, and her largest fangs were easily over half a meter in length.

" _Whatever. You humans have such silly names, it's so much easier to just call things what they smell like,_ " she explained. " _Speaking of smell, this thing is absolutely disgusting,_ " she continued, tossing her head lightly towards the corpse.

" _Hmm, I suppose we could do something about that,_ " Harry mused. Practically none of the beast's flesh remained, the majority of it having rotted away, but the basilisk's hide and skeleton was mostly intact. Harry cast a shrinking charm at it, but it had no effect. Apparently, its magical resistance didn't die along with it. " _Maybe some other time._ "

" _Can you at least do something about the smell?_ " Saphira practically begged, the pleading tone sounding strange coming from such a massive animal. Harry just grinned at his familiar, then traced a few runes in the air above the basilisk's scales. With a flash, what looked like a bubble appeared around the entire corpse, trapping the air in with it. A wave of his hand blew a strong gust of fresh air through the chamber, carrying the smell of death along with it.

" _Much better,_ " Saphira said. " _This thing won't break if I touch it, right?_ " she asked, gesturing to the body. Harry shook his head, and Saphira proceeded to push it away from the center of the chamber and into a corner next to the bust of Slytherin.

" _Thanks, Saphira,_ " Harry said with a smile. With that out of the way, Harry began to inspect the rest of the chamber, something he'd neglected to do the last time he'd been here. Inside the statue's gaping mouth was a simple chamber, just large enough for a massive snake to coil within. Clearly, the snake had grown nearly too large for it, since every surface was covered with scuff marks from the snake's scales rubbing against them. However, he found nothing else of interest.

The chamber proper had a few large pipes leading away from the chamber and into the rest of the castle, though many of them had collapsed. The largest of the passages was perfectly straight, as far as Harry could tell, and disappeared into darkness quickly. He made a mental note to explore it at a later date, but for now he scratched a few runes into the wall of the tunnel. A shimmering golden net flashed over the passage for an instant before it faded away. He would now be alerted if anything with a magical core crossed the threshold unless they were somehow able to mask their presence.

" _Come on, Saphira, we'd better head back,_ " Harry said. Saphira pouted for a moment, which was a bizarre thing to see on the face of a basilisk, before she morphed into her usual form. Harry draped her around his shoulders and began walking back to the entrance, stepping carefully over the remaining rubble.

" _Hmm_ ," he mused, staring up into the pipe he'd slid down, " _perhaps I should've considered how we were getting back up before jumping down._ "

" _I think you're right,_ " Saphira said with amusement. " _Fortunately, that's not too much of a problem for me._ " She slid from his shoulders as she morphed into the form of the Quetzalcoatl, then flew up the pipe with a hissing laugh.

Harry rolled his eyes with a grin on his face. A flick of his hand conjured a flat slab of stone that he stepped on, before a levitation charm cast on it lifted him rapidly back into the castle.

* * *

The days leading up to the first task flew by in a blur for Eve. She had stormed into her mother's apartment the previous night on the verge of a panic attack, having convinced herself that she would be walking to her death the next day. Her mother was obviously just as worried, though she did a better job at hiding it. On her own insistence, the pair had gone over the entire list of exotic magical beasts she'd compiled over the last few days.

She'd been disappointed to discover that her father had been called out once again after a tip reported Crouch being seen in Knockturn Alley, but he'd promised that he would return in time to watch her compete the next afternoon. Several hours of studying later, her mother insisted that she get back to her dorms for some sleep.

She slumped onto the bench in the Great Hall next to Hermione, who had a book open in front of her.

"Morning," she grunted, scraping some butter onto a piece of toast.

"Good morning," Hermione replied, in a tone that was far too chipper. "I noticed you come in past midnight, so I figured I'd let you sleep in a bit longer today. How're you feeling?"

"Great," Evelyn replied, "I always sleep great the night before I have to compete against older students in front of the entire school."

"Your sarcasm is really lacking today," Hermione noted. "You're going to be fine, you know. From what you've told me, you're about as prepared as you can be for a task that you're not supposed to know about."

"Thanks, Hermione," Evelyn murmured, smiling slightly at her friend. "I think I'll skip classes this morning, I really wouldn't be able to focus anyways."

"Want me to come with?" Hermione asked. Evelyn smiled at her, knowing how worried she must be if she was offering to skive off class.

"Nah, don't worry about it. I might just go fly for a bit. Meet you back here for lunch?" Evelyn suggested.

"Before that, you'd better get something more… substantial to eat," Hermione said, finally looking up from her book with a disapproving glance at her plate. "I know you're nervous," she continued, quieter this time, "but going in on an empty stomach really won't help."

"I know, I know," Evelyn sighed heavily, scooping eggs onto her plate.

* * *

Harry sat on a stool in the corner of the champion's tent, waiting for the remaining champions to arrive. The five judges were already present, along with Krum and Fleur. Bagman was animatedly gesturing as he spoke with Madame Maxime, who looked decidedly unimpressed with whatever tale he was telling. Percy and Dumbledore were quietly speaking near the entrance, while the Durmstrang contingent brooded quietly in the opposite corner.

Soon enough, the tent flap lifted, and Evelyn entered, followed closely by Neville. Evelyn offered a weak smile to Harry, who stood and walked towards the group now that Dumbledore was waving them all over. Harry nearly scowled as he saw Percy pull a familiar-looking bag from his robe pocket but managed to mask his emotions.

"Well, now we're all here, time to fill you in!" Bagman said with a grin. "Once the audience has arrived, Barty here will offer you each this bag," he explained, pointing to Percy's hand. "You'll each find a miniature version of—well—the thing you'll be facing today," he said, looking disappointed that he couldn't yet spring the surprise on them. "What else, what else… Ah yes! The task is to collect the golden egg!"

The champions looked nonplussed at this, causing Bagman to deflate slightly. "Well," Percy said, clearing his throat, "You've got about ten minutes. If the other judges would join me outside for a moment," he said, gesturing for the exit. "Advisors, once your champion begins the task, you may watch from just inside the arena. Obviously, any interference on your part will result in a zero score for your advisee."

Harry nodded, as did the other advisors as the judges left. Harry nodded towards the corner he'd been sitting on before, and Evelyn followed him over.

"How're you doing?" Harry asked the pale girl.

"Fine," she said, nearly perfectly mimicking the tone Harry used when answering the same question. Harry gave her a doubtful glance.

"Yes, most people feel fine before they face an unknown magical creature," he said with an eye roll. "Seriously, how are you feeling?"

"I'm stressed," she replied after a few seconds of silence, keeping her eyes fixed on her hands. "I feel about as prepared as I can be, but I'm still worried. I mean… those two have three entire years on me," she said, pointing to Krum and Fleur, "and Neville's the Boy-Who-Lived! How am I supposed to compete against them?" By the end, her voice had trailed off to a near whisper.

"You have to put them out of your mind," Harry said quietly. "Yeah, I know, easier said than done, but it really doesn't matter what they end up doing." A dull roar began drifting through the tent as the crowds filled the stands, and the judges reentered the tent. "Come on, I think they're ready."

Bagman waved the rest of the champions towards him, the silk bag in his hand. "It's time to reveal what you'll be facing!" He pulled the string from the neck of the bag and pulled it open. "Ladies first," he said, offering the bag to Fleur. The Veela reached slowly into the bag and withdrew it a moment later with a tiny green dragon grasped tightly in her fist. A tiny number two hung on a delicate chain around its neck.

"Ah, the Welsh Green," Percy said knowingly. Fleur appeared to be only slightly surprised, which strengthened Harry's suspicions that the contracts had prevented any exact information from getting to the champions. Bagman turned to Evelyn now, who reached out a shaky hand. A tiny puff of sparks leaped from the opening as she reached in, but she reached in nevertheless. Harry nearly groaned as he saw the Horntail, again with the number four around its neck.

"The Hungarian Horntail," Percy said with a warning tone as Bagman turned to the two male champions. Krum pulled out the Chinese Fireball, leaving Neville with the Swedish Short-Snout and the first position.

"Each of you will face the dragon you've pulled out, and the numbers indicate the order," Bagman explained. "Mr. Longbottom, as you'll be going first, if you and your advisor would just wait until you hear the cannon, that will be your cue to enter the arena." He glanced around at the other champions. "Ah, Ms. Potter, could I have a word for a moment?"

"Ludo, we need to get to the judges booth," Percy interrupted with a disapproving frown. Ludo looked torn for a moment, but eventually followed him like a chastised puppy with once last grin towards Evelyn.

"Good luck, everyone!" he called out as the judges left. The champions dispersed to the corners of the tent with their advisors once more. A heavy silence fell over the tent as the sounds of the crowd drifted through the fabric. A few moments later a roar was heard, followed quickly by gasps from the crowd. Harry could see the blood draining from Neville's face as the seconds went by.

A blast from a cannon went off, setting off another round of roars from the dragon in the arena. Evelyn stood and walked to the exit as Neville was standing to leave.

"Good luck, Nev," Evelyn said. "I'll be rooting for you."

"Thanks, Eve," Neville said shakily, "I'll see you in a bit." McGonagall put her hand on his shoulder and guided him from the tent.

* * *

The tasks of the first three champions went far too quickly. There were many gasps and shouts from the crowds as each of the champions did their best to outsmart their dragons, leaving Evelyn's subconscious to fill in the gaps. Every time she heard a roar, she imagined a gout of flames burning Neville to a crisp, every gasp from the crowd filled her mind with images of Fleur being crushed by a massive, scaly limb. Professor Blackwood tried a few times to distract her with conversation, but she wasn't in a particularly talkative mood.

Eventually, they were the only ones left in the tent, and by the sounds of it, Krum had just finished up. Evelyn sat with her eyes closed, doing her best to drown out the sounds of the crowd and the roars as they moved the Horntail into position.

With a _boom_ , the cannon went off once more. With a profound sense of dread, Evelyn got to her feet and faced the exit.

"Hey," Blackwood said, interrupting her morose thoughts, "just remember what you've learned. You've made a lot of progress in the last few weeks, and if you keep that in mind, you'll do just fine, okay?"

"Thanks, Professor," she said. With a deep breath, Evelyn squared her shoulders and pulled back the tent flap.

* * *

 **Author's Note: Hey everyone, I know it's been a while, but life happened and I lost all motivation to write. I'm going to avoid any promises about updating again since I'm sure I'll just end up breaking them, but _hopefully_ I'll be able to get back into it. Hope you guys enjoy the update!**

 **Edit, 11/15/19: Crouch is dead (thanks to pictureme and MetalicDeath for pointing this out).**


	15. The First Task

Harry stepped into the rocky arena behind Evelyn and felt a wave of magic wash over him. A heavy silence filled the air, and he realized there must have been a silencing ward set up over the area, a smart precaution, as dragons were notoriously sensitive to loud sounds. He could sense a few other wards as well, but he put them out of his mind for the moment.

"Whoa," Evelyn whispered, staring across the rocks. There, perched on the far side of the stadium, was the Horntail. It glared straight back at them with narrowed yellow eyes, taking in every minute detail of the two insignificant creatures that dared enter her domain. Powerful claws kneaded the stones beneath them, shredding the earth as if it were made of snow. Massive leathery wings were half extended, bathing a significant portion of the arena in shadow.

A heavy iron collar was wrapped around the beast's neck, attached to a massive chain that would prevent the dragon from moving more than a few dozen yards in any direction. Harry noted the glistening runes that were carved in the collar and each individual link in the chain. The runes on the links were exclusively strengthening enchantments, since normal iron would be about as effective as tying the creature up with tissue paper, though the ones on the collar were notably more complex. He couldn't make out the exact enchantments used, though he could tell that they were mainly a combination of magic and intelligence damping.

"Evelyn," he spoke softly, "those runes on the collar will weaken both the dragon's fire and intelligence. That means you'll be able to trick it like you would any animal." The girl next to him nodded firmly, though her face was still pale. "Watch the countdown," he noted as Dumbledore's wand raised, a silvery ribbon twisting into the number ten and counting downwards.

When the ribbon twisted into a zero, Evelyn immediately cast engorgement charms on several stones near her feet and banished them as far to the left side of the arena as she could. The dragon's eyes latched onto the flying boulders in an instant, and it roared as they crashed into the ground. It shifted its stance towards where they landed, opening its massive jaws to release a gout of flames. Evelyn darted towards the left as a jet of red flames bathed the stones, melting the edges into slag in seconds.

She flicked her want at the ground in front of her, raising a short wall of rock that she slid behind to take a moment to catch her breath. The flames had stopped pouring from the dragon's maw, and it shifted as it realized there had been nothing there. Its nostrils twitched as it sniffed the air, and it growled as it turned towards Evelyn's hiding place.

The girl cursed as she realized she'd forgotten to cast a scent-masking charm, and she quickly remedied that with a wave of her wand and a muttered incantation. However, the dragon wouldn't be dissuaded that easily not that it had caught a scent. A low rumble emanated from its throat, and it began slowly moving towards the small wall that was protecting her from its sight.

A small explosion sounded from the other side of the arena, and the dragon whirled with a speed that should have been impossible for something of its size. It lashed out with another burst of flames, followed by both of its forelegs crashing down on the offending source of the sound. Harry grinned as he watched Evelyn take advantage of the distraction caused by her blasting hex and move towards the nest again, now less than half the distance that she'd started from.

* * *

"Great Scott!" Bagman exclaimed, his voice reverberating through the crowd, "Evelyn Potter has managed to trick the Hungarian Horntail _again_ , and now she's nearly within reach of the nest! None of the other champions managed to get this close so quickly, but will she manage to keep up this pace?"

Lily squeezed James' hand as if her life depended on it, eyes following each motion of her daughter as she faced off against an honest-to-Merlin _dragon_. What on earth were the organizers of the tournament thinking, sending up underage students to tackle one of the deadliest magical creatures known to wizardkind?

"She's doing well so far, Lils," James said quietly. "She just needs to keep it distracted, she'll be totally fine."

"Go Eve!" shouted Adrian from James' other side, "Kick that dragon's scaly butt!" James chuckled and turned to his son.

"You do realize she's not supposed to fight it, right?" he asked with a grin on his face.

"She could if she wanted to, I bet," he answered back with a fierce look on his face. "She's—"

"She's moving again," Lily commented quietly. Eve had thrown another boulder across the arena, drawing the dragon's ire away once more. While it was distracted, she scrambled over the uneven ground, skirting the edge of a crevasse. She transfigured yet another small rock wall but lost her footing on the edge of the ravine just as she was ducking behind it. A shower of loose gravel slid down the incline with a clatter. Lily gasped as the dragon's head snapped towards her daughter, though she managed to pull herself behind the barrier before the dragon could spot her.

"She's okay, Lils, she's okay," James said quietly. "She just needs to distract it one more time, then she's home free."

The crowd quieted now as the Horntail scanned the area near Evelyn carefully, muscles visibly tensing beneath the black scales as the yellow eyes flicked back and forth. "It looks like our fourth and final champion of the day has found herself in a bit of a bind!" Bagman called out to the crowds. "She is now within sight of her objective, but how will she manage to get to it?" Lily shot a venomous look at Bagman for making a spectacle of her daughter facing off against such a dangerous creature.

"She'll be okay, Lily. She's smart, she'll get out of this," James assured her. Lily hoped he was right.

* * *

Evelyn tried desperately to control her breathing, knowing the dragon was just waiting for a target. With a flick of her wand, she conjured a tiny mirror near the edge of her barricade and glanced into it. For a moment, she thought it was broken for some reason, but she soon realized she was just looking at the inky black hide of the Horntail.

A flick of her wand levitated a boulder to her side, and she tossed it away from her makeshift shelter. She heard a roar and a crash before she was showered in a rain of dust. Another glance in the mirror showed nothing but blue sky, so she chanced a peek around the other side of the rock wall. The dragon was distracted now, looking towards where she'd thrown the boulder. Apparently, the beast had smashed the rock straight out of the air with a flick of its tail.

The dragon was now completely clear of its nest and Evelyn could see a glint of gold among the white eggs. She threw another blasting hex to the opposite end of the arena to keep the Horntail distracted, then transfigured a stone next to the nest, turning it into a large arm. It wasn't particularly defined, but it would do the job. Another flick of her wand had the hand grasping the egg, then it threw it towards her. The golden egg arced smoothly through the air, throwing off gold light in every direction as it spun. She reached out her off-hand and caught it easily.

An ear-splitting roar split the air, and Evelyn felt her blood freezing in her veins. As quickly as she could, she transfigured the largest rock wall she could manage. The next moment, red flames were licking around the edges as the dragon bathed the wall in its scorching breath. She started sweating immediately and threw as much additional material on the barrier as she could. When the dragon stopped its assault for a moment, she launched another boulder towards it as she dashed towards the exit. She threw up another wall a few seconds later, having made it more than halfway to the line that marked the end of her task.

A massive tail crashed through it as if it weren't even there, and Evelyn felt a burning pain as she fell to the ground and a spike sliced her right calf open. The dragon had reached the end of its restraints and was unable to bring its head any closer, but the long tail just managed to close the distance. Evelyn managed to throw another blasting hex at the monster's wing, drawing out a cry as several tears opened in the membrane. Taking full advantage of its distraction, she scrambled to her feet and limped towards the exit, throwing a few smaller boulders behind her as she moved.

Professor Blackwood was only a few yards away from her now, standing just behind the line that marked the official end of the first task. With renewed vigor, she turned and transfigured one last wall, pouring every ounce into the spell to make it as thick as possible. Without pausing to see if it would hold against the Horntail's onslaught, she took a running leap towards her advisor, her leg crumpling beneath her as she landed.

Professor Blackwood immediately raised his wand and summoned an impossibly solid-looking shield between the dragon and them. A blast of flames struck the shield moments later as the Horntail strained against its restraints, but they just slid past with no effect. A few seconds later, a veritable hail of spells launched at the dragon from the opposite as the dragon handlers swarmed the arena, allowing her to finally take a deep breath as its focus was dragged away once more.

"Well done," Blackwood said, letting down the shield once he was certain the dragon was fully distracted. "A little dicey at the end there, but well done nonetheless."

"Thanks," she said with some effort, groaning as she tried to stand. He caught her arm as she was about to fall again.

"Let's get you to Madam Pomfrey, shall we?" he suggested as she sagged against him. The adrenaline was starting to fade from her body, letting the burning pain come back into focus. "We can get your scores—"

Evelyn looked up at him as he seemed to freeze, his eyes staring into the distance.

* * *

Something was wrong. He could feel magic in the air, magic that shouldn't be there. It was somehow familiar, but it set him immediately on edge.

"Professor?" Evelyn's voice cut through his thoughts, "are you okay?"

There was a quiet sound, almost unnoticeable at first, but getting louder each second. Harry recognized it only seconds later, and his eyes widened dramatically. He let go of Evelyn's arm and spun on his heel, his hand lifting and conjuring another powerful shield with mere seconds to spare.

With the sound of shattering glass, the wards surrounding the arena flared visibly for an instant before breaking, bright strands of magic lingering in the air. With the sound of rushing wind, a wave of magic washed over the shield he'd conjured. At the same time, the runes in the Horntail's collar sparked dramatically. With the distraction of the breaking wards slowing the onslaught of spells from the handlers, the dragon wrenched its head to one side and ripped the collar off.

The Horntail let out a rage-filled roar. In stark contrast to the animalistic cries it had let out during the task, this was the call of an intelligent creature that felt personally offended by what was happening. The dragon turned to the group of handlers that were trying to bring it down and unleashed a continuous pillar of white-hot flames that was barely held back by the combined effort of all six wizards. Another ear-splitting roar ripped through the air, followed closely by the dragon's tail whipping towards the handlers. Two of them went flying as they failed to shield in time, crashing into the walls of the arena with a sickening crunch.

"Evelyn," Harry said quietly, "get into the tent, get the other champions, and _run_."

"What are you going to do?" she asked, struggling to stand on her bleeding leg.

"Don't worry about it," he answered, attempting to formulate a plan. "Go. _Now_." Evelyn paused for another second, then turned and limped quickly towards the tent.

Now that she was out of the way, Harry turned back to the dragon. Only four handlers were still standing, but they looked significantly worse for wear after the last attack. He saw a golden dome wrapping around the stands, connected by thin strands of magic to the wand that Dumbledore was lifting above his head. Karkaroff and Maxime had their wands raised as well, no doubt bolstering Dumbledore's shield.

Harry flicked his wand into his hand and cast several masking spells over the champions tent that would hopefully prevent the dragon from focusing on it. In the rock in front of him, he carved the same rune he'd used in his fight with Barty Crouch, Jr. before flooding it with a significant amount of magic. With any luck, it would prevent any stray flames from the dragon from reaching the tent. With that finished, Harry began slowly making his way back into the arena.

" _Saphira,_ " he hissed softly, " _I may need your help here._ " The small snake poked her head out of the collar of his robes, tongue flicking out of her mouth.

" _That,_ " she said softly, " _is a large beast._ "

" _It's a dragon,_ " Harry said softly. " _Do you reckon it's about the size of your basilisk form?_ "

" _It does look that way,_ " Saphira responded. " _We have to fight that thing? You do realize I can't breathe fire, right?_ "

" _Your fangs are pretty big, I think you'll be fine,_ " Harry responded, doing his best to keep his voice light. " _Hopefully we won't need to do anything. Just be ready._ " Cautiously, Harry made his way to the side, so the tent was no longer directly behind him. If he did end up drawing the dragon's ire, he didn't want the tent to get caught in the crossfire. He continued his movement until he was roughly between the tent and the stands, with only the Forbidden Forest behind him.

The handlers continued to put up a fight, but there were now only three wizards left. From what he could tell, another of them had passed out from magical exhaustion while defending against another blast of flames. The dragon, now free from its chains, was slowly moving towards the small group, and Harry could tell it was preparing for the death blow.

* * *

Charlie Weasley prided himself on his skill as a dragon handler, but even he knew that he was in over his head. It normally took at least fifteen handlers to take down a dragon, or more if it were a particularly dangerous species or in a rage, both of which were true here. He knew the handlers for the other dragons were no doubt working as fast as they could, but it would take time to drag them back into an enchanted sleep, time that he wasn't certain they had. Only two of his coworkers were still standing next to him, and it was taking all they had just to prevent the dragon from squashing them like insects.

The Horntail's wings unfurled, throwing a massive shadow over them. With a massive flap, the dragon pulled itself onto its rear legs, buffeting them with a concussive blast as it did so. Two massive forelimbs the size of tree trunks lifted dozens of feet in the air as it prepared to crush its opposition.

"Everyone, shield, now!" Charlie yelled. They all cast their most powerful shields as the dragon came crashing down. Charlie gasped as he felt his magic draining as the massive claws scraped down his shield, and he fell to one knee. The dragon stepped back slightly to survey the damage it had caused, and Charlie cursed when he only saw one other shield.

"Damn it, where are the rest?" Charlie shouted out to his one remaining companion.

"We need to move back, or we're done for," he answered, backpedaling as quickly as he could, dragging an unconscious body along with him.

"We can't let the dra—look out!" Charlie shouted as a shadow fell over them once again. They both threw up shields in an instant, bracing themselves against what he fully expected to be the killing blow.

It took three seconds for him to realize he was still standing, and he opened his eyes. He blinked several times, unable to comprehend what was happening in front of him.

A massive _snake_ had dragged the Horntail back away from the stands and the handlers, causing the Horntail to fall on one of its own outspread wings with its full weight. A shriek of pain ripped through the air as the bones snapped under the two beasts' titanic weight. With a hiss that sounded like it came from everywhere at once, the snake lunged forwards and sank its teeth into the base of the Horntail's throat.

"That wasn't part of the task, was it?" Charlie asked in bewilderment. His companion could only shake his head wordlessly.

* * *

Harry was sprinting around the edge of the arena, carving runes in the stones every dozen yards or so and flooding them with magic as Saphira wrestled with the Horntail. After he made it nearly halfway around the ring, he conjured a Patronus and instructed Dumbledore to start evacuating the students to the castle in small groups. He was confident that his wards would hold the Horntail long enough for small groups to get to the castle.

That done, he turned to the fight raging in the center of the arena and winced as he took in the damage. Saphira was still coiled around the Horntail's chest, constricting it enough that it was unable to breathe any fire, but the dragon's claws were still deadly weapons that it was using to great effect on Saphira's green and black scales. Tears had been opened all along the length of her body, blood slowly flowing out of them.

As bad off as Saphira looked, the Horntail looked worse. One wing was completely crushed, dragging across the ground as the two wrestled for superiority. Saphira had clearly bitten the beast multiple times on the neck where black ichor was dripping from several puncture marks. The venom now running through its veins was slowing its movements down, though its natural magic was burning it off too quickly for the venom to actually kill it.

Harry began throwing cutting curses towards the dragon, carving shallow furrows in its hide. They weren't deep enough to even cut through the scales, but Harry continued casting with carefully aimed spells. A grin spread across his lips as he saw his opening.

" _Saphira,_ " he hissed as loudly as he could, " _you've got about fifteen seconds to get the hell out of there._ " A wordless hiss was his only response, but it was clearly an affirmative. With a nod to himself, Harry pointed his wand towards the dragon and intoned clearly, " _Fulgus._ " A bolt of lightning leaped from his wand and crossed the distance between them in a split second.

Unknown to the majority of magic-users, lightning was an extremely effective method of channeling magic over any significant distance. Without physical contact, magic lost most of its energy after traveling only a few feet. Lightning, however, could carry that same energy for much larger distances before dissipating. Harry was taking advantage of this fact to charge up the rune he'd carved into the dragon's scales.

Unfortunately, he could feel the magic overwhelming the wards on his makeshift wand. With a curse, he dropped the wand before it could burst into flames and continued channeling the spell through his hands. He could see a faint glow building up in the makeshift rune and knew he was getting close.

" _Five seconds, Saphira,_ " he called out.

* * *

Albus Dumbledore could feel beads of sweat gathering on his brow and upper lip as he continued to hold an _Aegis Maxima_ over the entirety of the stands. After Nicolaus' Patronus arrived, they'd begun intermittently sending small groups of students back to the castle, starting with the first- and second-years, though he was unwilling to keep the shield down for more than a few seconds at a time on the off chance Nicolaus' defenses couldn't hold the dragon back.

He'd been just as baffled as the rest of the school when a massive basilisk had appeared out of thin air and attacked the dragon, and he'd thought it was an illusion for a few seconds, at least until the two creatures began biting and scratching each other. Once he realized it was real, he'd slightly modified his shield so that it shimmered like water, which should prevent any accidental deaths from the beast's gaze. It had taken some time for him to puzzle it out, but eventually he came to the conclusion that his newest staff member had gotten into the Chamber of Secrets with his unique familiar.

Cursing his oversight, Albus reached through his bond with Fawkes and asked him to begin evacuating the youngest students from the stands. Only seconds later, a burst of flames appeared nearby, taking a student along with it as it faded. A tense smile danced across his lips for an instant before he refocused on the task at hand.

Albus was amazed for the second time that day when the basilisk suddenly vanished, replaced by what looked like a ghost. In seconds, a massive, silvery serpent had flown clear of the Horntail, which was roaring as it struggled to its feet. Apparently, Nicolaus' familiar had had enough. He frowned, knowing that the dragon would likely turn either to the man throwing lightning at it or to the stands holding the students.

The next few seconds demonstrated to Albus that he should get used to surprise when it came to Nicolaus Blackwood. A final pulse of lightning leaped from Nicolaus' hands, and Albus could now see a faint glow on the dragon's scales. The glow intensified over the next few seconds, and the dragon swayed on its feet almost as if it were drunk. A weak sound slipped from the beast's maw, almost pitiful in a way, before it slumped onto its chest, eyelids sagging.

* * *

Harry gasped for breath as he struggled to keep himself upright. The dragon had collapsed, hopefully long enough for the rest of the dragon handlers to arrive, but Harry was exhausted, more so than he'd been in quite a while. If he hadn't put enough power into the rune, there would be precious little he could do to slow it down. He felt a slight weight settle over his shoulders as Saphira landed on him, and he immediately reached up to her.

" _You did an amazing job,_ " he complimented her as she wound around his wrist. " _Hold still a moment, I'll see if I can heal some of these scratches._ " Her wounds looked significantly less severe in her smaller form, but several of them could be fatal if they weren't treated quickly. Harry wrapped his free hand around her gently and forced his depleted core to start healing her. Faint golden light emanated from his hands, and he sighed in relief as he saw the worst of the wounds sealing over with slightly shinier scales.

" _That itches,_ " Saphira hissed softly. " _I'm gonna have to shed at least a week early now._ "

" _I'm just glad you're alright,_ " Harry answered as the magic faded from his hands. " _There's still some scratches, but I don't think I can do anything about them right now._ " Everything in front of him was swimming now, as if he were looking through a wall of water. Distantly, he registered that there were now quite a few people gathered around the Horntail and concluded that the rest of the dragon handlers must have arrived. As his vision faded to black, he could have sworn he felt hands softening his fall.

* * *

"We need a healer!" Evelyn shouted as she caught Professor Blackwood just before his head struck the rocky ground. Whatever he'd done to the dragon had been enough for the handlers to completely subdue it without much effort, and the professors from each school were now evacuating the remainder of the students to the school as quickly as they could, though a large number had already been taken back. She, the other champions, and the other advisors had been watching the events unfold from the relative safety of their tent, unwilling to do anything that could draw the ire of the Horntail.

As soon as the other handlers had shown up, Evelyn had dashed from the tent towards her advisor, heedless of the shouts from Madame Pomfrey and the other adults. As she approached, she could have sworn she saw him speaking, but there was nobody nearby that he could've been speaking to. She could see him swaying on his feet as he glanced dazedly around the arena, barely making it in time to catch him.

Madame Pomfrey arrived only a few seconds later and began levitating him out of the arena. "Come with me, Ms. Potter, we need to get out of here," she instructed, bustling towards the castle already. Showing remarkable skill, she conjured a Patronus while keeping Blackwood in the air. "Tell Albus that we need to contact St. Mungo's for a few extra healers," she told a silvery bird that Evelyn didn't recognize.

As they moved towards the castle, they were joined by several of the dragon handlers who were levitating their injured coworkers. Fortunately, the professors were keeping the entrance hall clear of students, allowing them to quickly make their way to the hospital wing. Pomfrey quickly settled Professor Blackwood on the bed closest to her office, then waved her wand several times at the fireplace. Seconds later, green flames flared to life, followed closely by the appearance of a witch and a wizard dressed in the long white robes of healers.

"What's the situation?" the wizard asked, sharp eyes taking in the hospital wing in seconds.

"Three cases of likely magical exhaustion," Pomfrey responded, pointing to Blackwood and two dragon handlers that had collapsed while shielding against the Horntail's attacks, "and two with severe blunt-force injuries." Here, she pointed at the two handlers that had been batted aside by the dragon's tail.

"I presume you'll be able to handle the magical exhaustion?" he asked again, already moving towards the injured handlers with his colleague in tow.

"Of course," she responded, flicking her wand and summoning several potions from a nearby cabinet. Evelyn watched quietly as Pomfrey quickly poured the potions into each of the wizard's mouths, following them up with a spell that forced them to swallow. "Ms. Potter, I need to grab several more volatile potions from my office, just watch these three and yell my name if anything happens." Evelyn started to nod, but Pomfrey whirled back to Blackwood's bed as he began to go into convulsions.

"Damn it, he's having a reaction to the potion," she muttered under her breath. "Ms. Potter, go to my office and grab one of the clear vials on the top shelf of the potions cabinet," she instructed as her wand danced over Blackwood's now thrashing body. Evelyn immediately ran into her office and frantically scanned the top shelf of the cabinet, eventually finding the clear ones on the right side. She rushed back out where Madame Pomfrey was rapidly casting spells, trying to prevent him from hurting himself. She snatched the vial from Evelyn's hand before she could even speak, unstopping it and taking a quick sniff. Satisfied that it was the correct potion, she poured it into Blackwood's mouth and made him swallow it. Moments later he stilled, breathing calmly again.

"What just happened?" Evelyn asked. Madame Pomfrey shook her head.

"I can't tell you, Ms. Potter, I'm a healer. I can't discuss this with anyone but him," she nodded toward the bed. "I need to check on the others for a moment, please just watch him for a few minutes and just call me over if anything changes." With that, she bustled off to check on the unconscious dragon handlers.

Evelyn nearly called her back as she saw Professor Blackwood's arm moving but realized a moment later that Saphira had just slid out of his sleeve. The snake moved onto his chest before transforming into a much larger snake that Blackwood once mentioned had been her companion for a time.

" _Well, well, look who it is,_ " the snake hissed softly as it surveyed the hospital wing. Evelyn glanced around to make sure nobody was nearby before leaning down to the snake.

" _Hello, Saphira,_ " she hissed back. The snake's head turned to face her quickly, and she could tell that Saphira was surprised.

" _You are a speaker?_ " she asked hesitantly, a curious tone in her voice.

" _I am,_ " Evelyn replied, " _I've known for a few years now. Was that… was that you fighting the dragon today?_ "

" _It was,_ " the snake answered after a brief pause. " _Though I would ask that you don't tell anyone else, I'm sure the Ministry wouldn't appreciate a mere professor having a personal basilisk._ "

" _I won't, I swear,_ " Evelyn responded quietly. " _Thank you for what you did today. Are you alright?_ "

" _Ha—He healed me just before he passed out,_ " Saphira said. " _I'm fine now, though._ "

" _Do you think—_ " Evelyn cut herself off as she saw Madame Pomfrey making her way back towards them.

"How is—is that a snake?" she asked in surprise.

"It's his familiar," Evelyn said quickly, "she was in his pocket and just came out."

"Very well," Pomfrey replied. "Ms. Potter, you should get back to your dorms, I'm sure your friends are worried about you and we have everything well in hand up here."

Evelyn considered arguing for a moment, but then realized she hadn't yet spoken to either her family or Hermione since the end of the task. Without another word, she stood and practically dashed from the room, leaving an amused Poppy Pomfrey and Saphira behind her.

* * *

 **Author's Note: Finally, the first task! Hope you all enjoy the chapter.**


End file.
